The Return
by Ira4
Summary: The reappearance of someone from Amanda's past puts her in danger. Who can she trust to help her? The last chapter is up.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

So I don't really like writing two things at the same time, but this idea came to me and I just couldn't help it. I promise to update my other fanfic soon.

(And just a little side note, I had a little SVU marathon and I noticed that in season 13-14 when Nick and Maria had problems he was often working with Amanda…I wonder what that means. But this has nothing to do with this fanfic)

* * *

Nick was at his desk going through some files. He was just back at SVU after what seemed like forever to him, even though it has only been a few weeks.

He was glad to be back. Sure, he had to be on desk duty for a few more days, but it was better than the alternative. He knew this was the last chance, he can't mess up anymore.

He felt like the job was the last thing he got left. His marriage was over, his daughter moved to LA, things with his son were fine but he could never get back the years he missed.

And Amanda, he managed to screw that up too. Maybe he should have gotten a job ruining things, he'd be great at that.

Seems like he's also good at regretting.

So his job was the only thing left. Still, he hated desk duty, he felt stuck, not being able to help. Fin and Liv left a while a go to a scene and Nick knew he would be more helpful there than at the precinct right now but he didn't say a word. He was on his best behavior.

Amanda was still at the precinct too, but she was interviewing a witness and he didn't get a chance to talk to her today. She's been acting like everything was alright between them, but he knew it wasn't and he really wanted to sort everything out.

"Excuse me" a voice brought his thoughts to a halt, Nick turned to see a man, probably in his fifties standing next to him "I'm looking for Amanda Rollins, I've been told I could find her here"

"I'm afraid she's busy right now, can I help you?" Nick wasn't sure he liked this guy, he looked a bit worried, like maybe he shouldn't be there.

"It's ok, I don't need help" he looked around, Nick was a bit suspicious, he didn't know why but there was something about this guy he didn't like. Could he be a bookie? Was she in trouble again? Nick got up from the chair, he was about to say something else when Amanda and the witness came out of the interrogation room.

The man turned when he heard her voice, she thanked the girl and told her that she'd call her if they need more help.

When she looked at their direction Nick knew he was right about this guy, he could see it on her.

Her face turned completely pale, she was just staring at the man. Nick wanted to ask him to leave but he just got closer to her.

"Amanda" he said quietly, he looked at her and when she didn't answer he continued "can we talk?"

She still didn't say a thing, but she nodded and headed towards the banks. Nick didn't like it. He hoped she'd look back at him, just to reassure him it was ok, but she walked straight to the banks and the man followed.

Nick couldn't concentrate , they've been there for a long time. He wanted to go in but he knew Amanda would not like that. He started feeling like he has a time perception problem, the minutes felt like hours.

But then he saw the man leave, he ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times while he walked out of the room without taking his eyes off the floor.

Nick was about to go and check in on her when Fin and Liv got back and she asked him to find something for her.

When Amanda finally got back she didn't look at him but he could see there was something going on, she seemed tense, and he could tell she was trying to hide it, joking about something with Fin.

He hoped to get a moment alone with her, to ask her what was going on. But he didn't get a chance because they got a call and she had to go with Fin to a scene.

* * *

Later that day, when he was at home, he thought about calling her. He was still worried, but he also wanted to just hear her voice. When they got together, a few months ago, it was a bit awkward at first. Working together and sleeping together had implications so they always had to be careful. But it also felt good. He wasn't blind, he always thought Amanda was beautiful and smart and interesting. But he was married so he didn't think about _being_ with her. He would never cheat.

But he's marriage was falling apart, and Amanda had her problems, it just happened. They didn't plan it, but didn't try to stop it either. He messed things up though, she was nothing but supportive after the whole Wilkes thing, but after he was demoted he didn't call her, even though she tried to reach out. He just felt like a failure.

But it wasn't an excuse, he was just great at messing up good things. So that's what he did. Being back at SVU he wanted things to be back to the way there were. He just wasn't sure what Amanda felt, she didn't say anything. He knew he has to talk to her, but he was a little scared to do it, what if she tells him she doesn't want to go back to what they had?

He had to take his mind off of her. He took his phone and dialed.

* * *

Amanda was relieved to see Nick had gone home when she returned to the precinct. She knew he would try to question her about the visitor. He's probably already thinking about all kinds of theories. Right now she wanted to be left alone, to think about everything by herself.

She took Frannie for a walk and stopped to get something to eat. Bus she wasn't really hungry.

"What do you think I should do?" she asked Frannie who just looked at her. Amanda took a deep breath and then was pulled a bit by Frannie who seemed to want to keep walking.

After a while they were at a familiar neighborhood, Amanda looked at Frannie, as if she's the one who decided they should go there.

"This is not a good idea" she told her, but still walked to the house and knocked on the door.

She didn't wait too long until he opened the door, he had a surprised look on his face when he saw her.

"Amanda? What are you doing here" Nick asked "is everything alright?" he looked at her and then at Frannie.

"Who is it?" Amanda heard a voice from inside and then she heard someone walking to the door.

"Hey" the boy said when he saw her.

"Gil, I don't think you've met my Ama…colleague, detective Amanda Rollins"

"Nice to meet you" the boy shook her hand and she smiled at him.

"Likewise"

"Your dog is cute" he said as he reached to pet Frannie.

"Yeah, she's great, her name's Frannie" the dog seemed to like the boy too and sniffed him a little.

Nick took the opportunity to ask Amanda if she was alright again.

"I'm fine, I'm so sorry for just showing up like this" she apologized.

"It's okay, come on in, we're just playing video games" he looked at Gil who was still playing with Frannie "he likes her"

"Yeah" Amanda smiled as she looked at them "but I really should go, I'm sorry"

Nick wanted to just grab her and take her inside, but he knew that would not end well. He'll talk to her tomorrow, she clearly wanted to talk.

"We've got to go Gil" Amanda took Frannie's leash.

"Okay, it was nice to meet you" he looked at Amanda "and you too Frannie"

Nick smiled as he watched his son say goodbye to the dog.

"Dad" Gil looked at him "is she your girlfriend?"

Nick was taken aback by the question, he chuckled a bit, but decided to be honest "I'm not sure" he said.

* * *

Amanda felt like a fool for showing up at Nick's like that. And with his kid there. She promised herself she wouldn't make the first move. Not because she didn't want to, but because she wanted Nick to be sure he wants this. He was so distant after he was demoted, she thought maybe he didn't want this thing they had to go on. So she didn't push him.

But showing up like this. Not a good idea.

And Gil was there, she was happy for them, they were getting along. She knew it was hard on Nick to find out he has another kid out of the blue. But she never really though about how it made Gil feel. To all of the sudden find out you have a father.

Maybe she should have asked him. Since she was now in a similar position. When she saw the man in the precinct that day, even after all this years, she knew it was him, it was her dad.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

Thank you so much for the reviews, I really love reading them :)

* * *

When Amanda was about nine years old her dad left. Just like that. She knew he had problems with her mom, and even though it made her mother angry, Amanda was always on his side.

That morning her parents were fighting, as usual, and he walked out of the door. She ran after him and asked him when he is going to be back. He promised to take her to a movie that day. He's answer was "later".

But later never came. He just didn't come back. A few weeks later her mom told her that he called, just to say he's sanding her divorce papers.

That was the last time she'd ever heard of him. She never went to see that movie, even when a friend's mother offered her to go with them. She told them that she'd wait for her dad, they wanted to see it together.

It took a long time for her to understand he's not coming back. And it upset her. Her mother started dating, and she left her to take care of Kim. She ended up taking care of her mother too, since she had a tendency to date man who only wanted to use her.

Maybe _later_ was now.

Because Amanda walked out of the interrogation room and saw him. She had no doubt it was him. And he walked up to her and she didn't know what to say.

She had enough strength to walk to the bunks. Once there though, she felt like she was that little girl, sitting outside of her house, all dressed up to go to the movies. It was getting darker, and she was getting tired. She was so tired she just fell asleep. Her sister woke her up. Her hair was a mess, and the dress she was wearing got dirty from the dust.

"Mandy" he called her and it brought her back to the reality, to the precinct.

She looked at him for a while before she spoke "I don't like it when people call me Mandy anymore"

He wasn't sure how he should reply, she had the right to say whatever she wanted.

"You are so grown up" he whispered.

She rolled his eyes at him "well I'm not nine anymore" she wanted to tell him he's late, but she figured he won't understand.

"Man…Amanda" he took a deep breath, he wanted to say so many things to her. She was leaning on the wall, her arms crossed, staring at him. He knew she looked a lot like her mother, but her eyes, they were his.

"Whatever I'm going to say, it's not going to fix anything" he saw her looking at the floor for a second, than her eyes were staring at him again "you deserve to know what happened"

"Ok" that's not what she wanted to say, she wanted to ask him if he was kidding, if he thought he could just show up after more than twenty years and just explain. But instead she said "ok", and then added "lets hear it"

"All this time, Amanda" he wasn't sure how to phrase it, and decided to just blurt it out "I've been in witness protection program"

Amanda bit her lip a bit so she wouldn't laugh, because she really wanted to do just that. He couldn't come up with a better excuse?

He could see she wad doubtful "it's true" he said "I know you don't have any reason to believe me, but that's the truth"

"So what are you doing here?" she moved a little, put here hands on her waist, kept on staring at him.

"I came here to find you" he answered.

"How did you know I was here? Mom?"

He shook his head "I don't think she'd be happy to see me" Amanda couldn't help it this time and she let out a little laugh, he ignored it.

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" he asked "I really want to explain everything"

A couple of minutes passed before she spoke "I'll think about it"

He took out a card and handed it to her "this is where I'm staying" she seemed reluctant, but took it anyway.

"I hope I'll see you later" he said.

"Yeah, later" she replied quietly.

After he left the room Amanda felt a wave of emotions washing over her, but she was not sure how she was feeling. Confused and angry for sure, but there was also a glimpse of joy. She wasn't sure she was happy to feel it about him, it was too late to take that little girl to the movie.

Amanda had the card in her pocket. But she didn't really need it, she took one look at it in the bunks and she couldn't forget the address. It was a little motel. She was standing across the street just looking at it. Did she really want to go in there? Hear him out?

But what if he has a good explanation?

Maybe that's what she was afraid of. What if she'd have to forgive him?

Sometimes she felt like such a cliché, having daddy issues because he left. She knew it was true, in a way she always looked for a father figure. Sometimes these figures ended up wanting more, like her old captain from Atlanta, who was always good to her, but also was attracted to her, and when he came for a visit few years ago he tried to kiss her. She felt so bad about it. But she felt bad about many things. Was that who she was to people? Easy pray? Someone you could use? She always tried to by strong, she didn't want to need anyone, not like her mother needed. But maybe it wasn't enough, Nate sure used her.

She couldn't help herself. "Come on girl" she said and crossed the street towards the motel.

* * *

When Tim Rollins was young he was certain that one day he would concur the world. He didn't know how to do it, but he was pretty sure it had to happen. He was already concurring most of the girls in his high school, how could he not with his looks. He had dark blonde hair, blue eyes, he was tall. No girl could say no to him, he didn't even have to try.

Not long before he graduated he met Sarah Marie, and he never felt like that before. They were in love.

For a long time things were good, they were happy and he still believed the world was his. But than Sarah Marie got pregnant and they had to get married. Still, it all seemed very romantic.

Amanda was a cute baby, she was easy too, didn't cry a lot. He got a full time job and they were doing alright, her parents helped them out, they were watching Amanda for hours everyday while their daughter spent time with her friends or at the part time job she got.

When Amanda was two years old Sarah Marie's parents died in a car accident. Suddenly she found herself alone with the baby most of the day and she didn't like it. Tim's dad died when he was a kid and his mom didn't like Sarah Marie so he was afraid to ask her for help. And that's when reality took over.

She slowly started resenting the baby, Tim didn't know, he wouldn't have noticed anyway. Since Sarah Marie couldn't work anymore he had to work harder. He got home tired and they would always argue. He found himself returning home later and later. He started spending a lot of time with his friends from work playing cards. He liked that.

They had some good times too. One lead to her being pregnant again. He hoped this time it would be a boy. But they had another girl. They called her Kimberly after her late grandmother. She wasn't like Amanda though, she was crying all of the time, constantly looking for attention. Now they were both tired all of the time.

Amanda was five and she tried to help, but there wasn't much for her to do except hold her little sister when her parents were screaming at each other so loud they didn't hear her crying.

As time passed things didn't get easier, Tim spent less time at home and more time plying cards. It may have started as friendly games, but it turned into more when it wasn't enough for him. Slowly it was all he wanted, to place another bet, make more money.

He watched games with Amanda, she liked spending time with him, and she shared his joy when he won and stayed away when he lost, he would get so quiet and just stare at the ceiling, it scared her.

He wanted to be rich. He wanted the big win and the games weren't enough. He would disappear for days, one time he got back without his car. He had a huge fight with his wife.

He walked out of the house that day, not sure where he was going to sleep since he no longer had many friends and his mother passed away earlier that year. Amanda ran after him and asked him where he was going. He told her he couldn't sleep in his bed that night and she offered him to stay at her room, she'll sleep on the couch and mom won't know. She was eight years old, she suddenly looked so grown up, and he felt so sorry for her. He agreed with her plan because he knew he had nowhere else to go. But he promised himself he won't let anything happen to her. He'll make all her dreams come true.

He earned enough money for a car and on Christmas he took her and Kim across Florida state lines. He left them in the car since children were not allowed in. He won that night, it was a lot of money. He showed it to her, promised that her dreams will come true, she looked so happy.

But something inside him knew he could make more, more money for more dreams. It couldn't be that hard.

But it was, and he lost everything.

Her reaction surprised him, she just said it was ok, she was too young for dreams anyway. Even though her words hurt him he couldn't stop. He didn't really try, between the job he hated and the wife who was arguing with him all of the time, it was his outlet. He told himself that without the gambling he would probably hit someone, so it was better.

Than one day he got so mad at Sarah Marie he just couldn't take another minute of being there. He walked out of the house and Amanda ran after him. They were supposed to go see a movie together. He said he'll be back in time, and he meant it. But he didn't make it back.

* * *

_You might recognize the thing with Amanda's old captain from "Strange Beauty" (13X22) and the story about Florida from "Gridiron Soldier" (15X16)_


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

* * *

Amanda knocked on the door. She didn't want to expect anything, she will listen to him and that's it. She doesn't owe him anything.

He opened the door, he looked happy to see her, but she tried to have a blank expression.

"Come on in" he moved to the side to let her enter the room.

It was a small room, one bad, two side tables and an old phone on one of them. There was also a small closet. She could see some clothes on the bed and a big suitcase of the floor.

"This is Frannie" she said when the dog got closer to him.

"She's adorable" he smiled at her.

Amanda bit her lip nervously "so" she said.

"Sit down" he said as he sat on the bed, there was no where else to sit so Amanda joined him and Frannie decided to do the same. Amanda was glad she did because it gave her hands something to.

"I don't know how much you remember Man…Amanda" he had had a shy smile on his face, he always used to call her Mandy "you were so young and" he wasn't sure how to proceed "back than I had a gambling problem"

"Yeah, I noticed" it came out harsher than she wanted it to be but he didn't say anything.

He cleared his throat before he continued, he should have known, Amanda has always been smart, of course she figured it out "that day" he knew she understood what day he was talking about "I went to a club, it was a small club just outside of Atlanta. I was a regular there, lost a lot of money" he looked into her eyes, she looked like she was listening "I went there hoping to win big, like I always hoped, but it wasn't happening" he took breath and continued "after a while I went out for a smoke, I was in the back of the club, where they had the trash and suddenly I heard this loud noise, I freaked out, hid behind one of the cans and saw three guys coming out of the club" he had to remind himself to breath, it wasn't the first time he talked about this but this time it was different "one of them pulled out a gun and shot the other two, just like that. And he just walked away"

Amanda could guess the rest of it, but she didn't say anything.

"Few minutes later the place was swarming with agents. I was still hiding in the back when they found me. Turned out the two men who were shot were undercover agents. And I saw everything"

Amanda wanted to laugh, was this real? It sounded way too familiar, she didn't have any dead agents in her case, but still…

He continued to talk since she didn't say anything "I didn't really have a choice, I had to take the deal they offered"

"What about us?" she wanted to know.

He looked down for a moment "your mom would have never wanted to go and there was no way she'd let me take you"

She nodded, so this was it, this is why he never came back. She was not sure how she felt about it, or if she believed him.

"The Marshal they assigned me sent me to a clinic, he said I had an addiction, I didn't even see it like that back then"

"But you called mom after that"

"I couldn't tell her the truth but we couldn't stay married, so they set it up. And that was it"

"So…" she wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

"After I got clean it suddenly occurred to me, I realized what I've done. I've hurt your mother, your sister and you. All these years I've never gambled, I know it doesn't mean much to you but…"

"No, that's really good to hear" she said. It did make her feel proud of him, she didn't want to feel it, but he was an addict, and as a fellow addict, she was happy for him.

"Why are you here now?" she asked, if he was in witness protection he couldn't just come visit her "how did you know I was here?" she added.

"Not long ago that Marshal I told you about, he retired. He was a good guy, and I didn't give him any trouble so I asked him for a favor. I just wanted to know you two were alright. He said he couldn't find anything special about Kim, I guess she'd still in Atlanta?" he asked but Amanda was silent "he said you were a detective here in New York"

Amanda knew the Marshal lied about Kim, if he looked them up he must have known that she was wanted for murder.

"And then about a week ago my new Marshal told me the man I testified against died in jail and the threat was over. I could go back to my old life" he looked at her "to my old name, more like it"

She could see there was something else, he had this look, like he's hiding something. She didn't like it "and?" she asked.

He smiled "the thing is" he got up and went to his suitcase "I was suppose to get my new ID, with my old name" he looked at her and then back at the suitcase, he took something out "then I found this" he had a newspaper in his hand.

He handed it to her and pointed on a picture "you see the man in the back?" he pointed at him. She didn't know who he was "That is Carl Jeffries, he's the man I testified against"

Amanda looked at him and then again at the picture, Jeffries was standing in the back, it wasn't even a picture of him but of some painting on a building, he was just walking there in the crowd. She looked at the date, it was taken two days ago.

"So he's still alive?" Tim nodded "and the Marshals told you he was dead?" he nodded again.

"I wanted to come here to see you, I didn't know about this until yesterday, and the truth is I don't know if I can tell anyone"

"Just me?"

He shrugged "I'm not asking you for anything Amanda, I'm just glad I got the chance to see you, to tell you the truth"

Amanda got up from the bed and Frannie followed her "do you have a phone?" she asked and he shook his head.

"I freaked out a little and got rid of it"

She chuckled "how long are you going to stay here?" she asked, he shook his head again but didn't say anything.

"Can I come by the day after tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yes" he answered without thinking about it.

"Ok then, I'll see you later" she opened the door and waited for Frannie to walk out.

"Later" he said.

* * *

Amanda was surprised that she didn't have a hard time to fall asleep. She was certain she would toss and turn the entire night, but the second her head touched the pillow she was asleep.

She woke up wondering if it was all a dream. Right now it looked as if her father was back, after being in witness protection all this time, and someone lied to him about the man he testified against. Not complicated at all.

She still wasn't sure whether she should believe him. A part of her wanted to, but another part, the one of that little girl who woke up on the ground waiting for her father, didn't.

She needed time to think about it, so she told him she will be there on Saturday. Today she was going to concentrate on work.

She saw Nick at the entrance to the building. "Good morning" he gritted her.

"Morning" she said and then turned around because someone called her name.

"Detective Rollins?" it was a man who looked to be in his late thirties, he was wearing a black suite "can I have a word with you?" he asked.

Nick looked at her as she agreed and when she was about to go towards the man he touched her shoulder "want me to wait?" he asked quietly, sounding a bit suspicious.

"No" she said with a questioning look "I can talk to him alone" she smiled and walked over to the man in the suite.

Nick went towards the door but didn't go in. he didn't like this one bit. The man yesterday and now this guy. He couldn't deny he was worried about her. He saw the man show her something but couldn't see what it was. He decided to go inside, he'd tell Fin about this, maybe she'll talk to him.

Amanda walked towards the man "how can I help you?" she asked him.

"Detective" he said "I am Deputy Marshal David Hawkins" he showed her his badge "I wonder if I could ask you a few questions about someone" he looked at her.

"Of course" she said, she had a feeling who he was going to ask about.

"I'm looking for a…" he stopped for a moment "a person of interest in an investigation, and I was wondering if you heard from him" she nodded and he continued "it might sound weird, but I'm looking for Tim Rollins, your father"

She knew it, what did her father want from her? Why did he appear all of the sudden after all of these years, making up this story.

"Detective?" the Deputy asked when she didn't respond for a while.

The words that came out of her mouth surprised her very much "the last time I saw him I was nine years old"

_L__et me know if you like this, more drama coming up soon_


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

_A little warning – there's some smut in the chapter, not really graphic, but don't say I didn't warn you __: )_

* * *

Nick watched Amanda as she entered the room. She headed straight to her desk. He could see she took something out of her pocket and put it in one of the drawers, it was a piece of paper. She took a deep breath and got to work.

Nick had a moment alone with Fin when he went to the bathroom "I've got to ask you something Fin" he said.

"What is it?"

"It's about Rollins"

Fin smiled "you have a tendency to ask me questions about Rollins in the bathroom, you know that?"

"Well, last time I was right so maybe you should listen now" Nick said it with a smile, he didn't want to upset Fin.

"Ok man, what is it now?"

"Yesterday this man came here looking for her, she looked like she'd seen a ghost, and this morning she was talking with someone out side the building, some guy in a suite. I don't know what's going on Fin, but…"

"I'll talk to her" he said and Nick nodded.

* * *

It was a busy day, but Fin did get a chance to ask Amanda about it.

"So listen Amanda" he said, they were going to the hospital to interview a victim "I have to ask you something"

"What is it?"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yes" she gave him a puzzled look "why?"

"I don't know what's going on, but Amaro wanted me to make sure, he saw you talking to someone and…"

"Oh, I see" she nodded and looked away.

"Look, Amanda, you know I love you and I've got your back, whatever it is. I just don't want you to get into trouble" she looked at him "you know that I trust you, so if you have something to tell me that's cool, but if you promise me everything is fine, really fine, I won't bug you about it. But I need to know you're okay"

She smiled at him "thanks Fin, it's fine, it really is"

"As long as you know I'm here for you"

"Thanks Fin, and I love you too, you know"

"Of course you do, how can you not?" they both laughed.

* * *

Nick felt better after Fin reassured him she was fine. But he still couldn't let it go. He couldn't stop thinking about her, not even about if anything was going on, he just though about her. After work he tried to get his mind off of her, but it was hard. Why was he doing this? Why can't he just talk to her?

After a while he decided not to wait any longer.

* * *

Amanda was washing the dishes after she ate something. She was still thinking about the situation with her dad. Why did she lie to the Marshal? He gave her his card if she heard something, maybe she should call him, tell him the truth. But she couldn't. Something stopped her, maybe she did believe her father. But why? He left her. But what if he wasn't lying?

She heard a knock on the door, she wondered if it was the Marshal, maybe he knew she lied and came to see her. But it was Nick. She wasn't sure it was the better option, Fin told her he asked questions about her. Why can't he let it go?

"Hey" she opened the door but didn't let him in.

"Can we talk?" he asked, she looked so beautiful to him, wearing a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt. He could tell she was thinking about it but she moved and let him inside. He saw Frannie on the floor, chewing on one of her toys.

"Look Nick" she sounded a bit tired "whatever you think is going on, I don't want to talk about it"

"Neither do I" he said and she was a bit surprised "look Amanda" he looked straight into her eyes "you don't need to tell me anything, it's your choice, it's my business only if you want it to be" he stopped for a moment "I'm not here because of that" he moved closer to her as he was talking "I'm here because I miss you, I really miss you" he was so close to her, just looking into her eyes. She didn't say anything but her lips turned into a soft smile "yeah?" it was barely a whisper but he nodded and didn't wait any longer to kiss her.

He wanted to go slow but he was way too excited to feel her lips under his. She didn't seem to mind when his hands pulled her closer and ran all over her back. She did the same with her hands, but she let them travel lower and they ended up resting on his butt.

It got him even more excited and he pushed her back gently, towards her bedroom. She pulled away and just looked at him for a moment.

"I'm sorry" he said "I thought maybe you wanted this..."he wasn't sure how to call what the had so he just went with _this_ "maybe you wanted this to end"

"No" she shook her head and gave him a shy smile "I like _this_"

"Yeah?" he asked, resting his hands on her waist. He didn't wait for her reply and kissed her.

They made their way to the bedroom and got on top of the bed. Even though Nick wasn't sure he could be patient, he wanted to take things slow. He missed her and wanted to feel every part of her under his fingers and under his lips.

He was laying on top of her, he slowly left her lips and moved on to her neck. His fingers unbuttoned the blouse slowly and after the first two his mouth followed. She played with his hair, didn't mind that he was going slow. She liked feeling his lips on her body.

He reached the last button and took his time kissing her stomach. His fingers moved to her jeans and he slowly unzipped the fly. She licked her lips and moaned a little as he pushed her pants down, together with her underwear, and she felt his mouth on her. She had a sudden urge to kiss him "Nick" she whispered, he moved only his eyes so he could look at her. She could feel he was smiling and it made her moan again "come here" she said. He obeyed with a curious look. "Yes?" he asked once he could look into her eyes. She smiled at him and lifted her head so she could kiss him. He wasn't opposed to kissing. He opened his lips and let her tongue in.

While his mouth was busy he let his fingers wander down her body until they reached between her legs. She moaned and it made him smile a bit. He loved hearing that sound coming from her lips so he had to make sure he'd get her to do it again and again.

It didn't take long until his fingers achieved their goal, and Nick moved to her neck for a while. When she relaxed a bit she lifted herself up enough so she could take off her shirt while he did the same with his, but he reached for her bra before she did. He took it off and ran his fingertips on her breasts slowly. She caressed his chick with the back of her hand and they just looked at each other for a while.

He kissed her again and she let her hand drop to his pants. She tried to unzip his pants but the way he was sitting made it somewhat difficult. He let her go so he could take them off. She did the same to her clothes and he lay on top of her again. He knew he planned on going slow, but waiting became too much for him as he wanted nothing more than to be inside of her. It felt like she wanted the same thing as she spread her legs and he wasn't going to make her wait any longer.

He moved slowly at first, but soon he wanted more, and started moving faster, she didn't object, she met his now frantic thrusts and soon neither could hold on.

He lay on top of her, panting. He missed this, why did he wait so long to tell her? All that time wasted.

At least he came to his senses. He could feel her relax underneath him and rolled off of her.

She turned her head at him, her eyes were closed but she was smiling.

"I'm glad you're here" she whispered and looked at him.

"I'm happy to be here" he smiled "you ok?" he could see she had some trouble keeping her eyes open.

"I'm just tired" she whispered and turned to the side, her back towards Nick.

He watched her as she turned and than kissed her left shoulder. Going to sleep seemed like a good idea. He covered her with the blanket and got under it too. He wrapped his arms around her waist and followed her to sleep.

_I didn't want to keep them apart for too long : )_


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

_I've been writing a lot lately, so here's another chapter. Let me know if you still like it : )_

* * *

He woke up thankful it was Saturday, they didn't have to go to work and he wouldn't mind spending the day in bed with her. But he could tell that she had other plans.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she tried to get away from his grip.

"I have a busy day" she smiled at him and got out of the bed "I'm going to have breakfast and take Frannie for a walk and then…I have to be somewhere"

She was getting dressed so he did the same and followed her to the kitchen.

"You've got a meeting?" he asked.

"Not today, want some coffee?" he shook his head and watched her make one cup. She let it cool down and opened the fridge "you can choose between one piece of cheese that's been here for a while" she smiled at him "I also have some tomatoes and some leftovers, looks like Chinese"

"It sounds too good, I just can't choose" he laughed.

"I was planning to go to the store yesterday, but I got distracted by this handsome guy" she gave him a serious look.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I hope I didn't scare him away"

Amanda took a sip of the coffee and looked at him "can we just catch a ride to your place?"

"Sure" he said, didn't she say she had somewhere to be?

"It's just closer to this thing" she said, she could see what he was thinking.

"No problem" he smiled.

They walked with Frannie for a little while and he drove them to his place. He offered her to go in and eat something but she refused. He kissed her in the car and she got out.

* * *

She walked to the motel. Once in a while she looked around but it didn't look like she was being followed. When she got there she started having second thoughts. He's probably already gone. Why would he stay if he lied to her?

She still knocked on the door and he opened.

"Amanda" he said and moved so she could come in, he could see she was surprised to see him, but he knew she had every right to doubt him.

"I had a visit from Deputy Marshal Hawkins yesterday" she informed him "you know him?"

"He's the one who told me Carl Jeffries had died"

"So you think he's the one who lied to you?" she asked but didn't give him chance to answer "because he told me that they need to question you, that you are a person of interest in an investigation"

"Can I ask what you told him?"

"Well I…" she looked down for a moment.

"I understand Mandy, I'd probably do the same…I guess I should…"

"What? I told him that the last time we've seen each other was when I was nine"

"You did?" he was surprised.

"Don't ask me why, I don't know why I did it"

"I really appreciate it"

They were silent for what seemed like a long time.

"Are you going to leave?" she finally spoke.

"I don't know" he shrugged "I don't have anywhere else to go, and I don't really know what's going on"

"There's no one who can help you?"

"Not really, I have friends who I've met when I was in WITSEC, but I can't ask them for help with this"

"Just friends?" she wondered.

"Yes" he knew what she was asking "you don't have any other brothers or sisters that I know of" he looked at her hands, no ring.

"Do I have any grandchildren?"

"Not that I know of" he smiled at her answer

"Just Frannie then?" It was Amanda's turn to smile, she looked at the dog who seemed to like the hotel bed.

"You have cash?"

"Not too much" he said.

"You know you can't use your credit card, right?"

"I still have it in case of an emergency but…"

"If you use it they will track you down" he nodded.

Looking at him now she remembered some good times. They had those too, and before he left she felt loved by him. What was she supposed to do?

"Stay here for now, I'll try to figure something out"

"Amanda…"

"It's ok" she ran her fingers through her hair "I'll give you my number, if something looks wrong just leave and call me from somewhere" she wrote her phone number on a piece of paper.

"I'll be back when I have something" she called Frannie "be careful" she said when she was right by the door.

"Thank you Amanda"

* * *

Amanda walked back to Nick's place. She didn't feel at ease. So she decided to help her father, it doesn't mean she forgives him or even that she believes him. Only that she's not sure who to believe. But she would try to figure things out.

"Come on in" Nick was happy and surprised to see her "changed your mind about breakfast?"

"Maybe" she smiled, she didn't really want to get Nick involved in this but maybe he could help her with something.

"Is a sandwich ok?" he asked.

"Sure" she answered and followed him to the kitchen.

"So, I…eh….wanted to ask you something"

"Ok" he was cutting something and glanced at her for a moment, she sounded nervous.

"Are you still in contact with someone from narcotics? Someone who does undercover work?"

He stopped what he was doing and turned around "I may know some people" this did not make him less worried about whatever she didn't tell him, and what she said next didn't help at all.

"They probably have like a safe house or something where someone can stay for a while, right?"

She was biting her lip now.

He looked like he was about to say something, but he just turned around and continued working on that sandwich.

She waited for him to speak. But he didn't say a word until he was done. He gave her the plate and she smiled at him. He looked at her for a while so she took a bite to please him.

"Amanda" he said while she was chewing "I can ask but, I need to know what's going on" she swallowed and looked at him.

"It's a messed up situation" she replied.

"Well, if I get dragged in to a messy situation I want to know what it is"

"I'm not dragging you into anything" she said.

"Maybe a little" she looked back at the plate when he said these words.

"You're right, you deserve to know. But do you have someone you can call? Someone you can trust?" Nick nodded, he did know someone.

"The man who was in the precinct that day, that's my dad" she took another bite of the sandwich while Nick's eyes widened.

"Your dad?" he asked and she nodded. He watched her swallowing the last bite and waited for an explanation.

"To make a long story short, turns out he left for witness protection when I was a kid, and they told him the man he testified against had died. But he found out he's not dead and now he's on the run"

"And the guy in the suite?"

"That's the Marshal who told him the other guy is dead. The sandwich was good, thanks" she smiled at him.

There were many questions he wanted to ask her, but he couldn't speak.

"I was hoping you could make that call now" she said.

"I'll see what I can do"

Nick walked into his bedroom and dialed a number. It was an old friend from narcotics. He knew he could trust him. But he wondered whether Amanda should trust her father. This was a messed up situation, like she told him, but he wasn't going to let her deal with it alone.

After talking to his friend he came back to the kitchen, Amanda was still sitting there, she was staring at the empty plate and the way she looked made him smile.

"Want another one?" he asked as he took the plate and placed it in the sink. She shook her head "he's on his way" he said and walked back to her and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you" she looked into his eyes, she could see he was worried.

"Amanda" his voice matched the look on his face. He took her hand and lightly squeezed it.

"I know" she knew what he was about to say "I'll be careful, I just need some time to find out what's going on"

"Well I'm here, ok?"

She smiled at him and stood up so she could kiss him. The made out for a while until a knock on the door forced them apart.

"Nicholas Amaro" the man at the door had a huge smile, he gave Nick a friendly hug and entered the house.

"Tom, thanks for coming"

"Sure thing man, glad you still think I'm useful for something"

"Oh, come on"

"Just kidding, I'm happy to help, where's your friend?' he asked.

Amanda joined them in the living room.

"Tom, this is detective Amanda Rollins, we work together" he said, trying to make it look like that's the only thing they were doing together. From the look in Tom's eyes he could see he guessed that's not true, but he wasn't really upset about it.

"Very nice to meet you" Tom shook Amanda's hand "so you guys need a safe house" he said.

"Just for a few days" Amanda nodded.

"Listen, I don't mind helping you out" he looked at Nick, they've been through a lot together and they trusted each other "I'm not going to ask what's going on, just keep it clean" he smiled and took out a key and a paper with the address. He handed it to Amanda "you've got a week, then I need it back"

"No problem" Nick said "maybe we should go catch a game sometime?"

"Sure, I'll give you a call" Tom said and made his way to the door, Nick walked after him.

"Thanks again Tom"

"No problem, it's really romantic, that you're helping her out" Nick chuckled and closed the door behind him.

When he turned around he saw that Amanda was ready to leave "want me go to with you?" he asked, he wanted her to say yes but knew better.

"It's okay, can I leave Frannie here for a while?"

"Sure" he smiled "want to borrow my car?" she nodded.

He gave her the keys and kissed her for a long time, he didn't want to let her go. She pulled away first and smiled at him "I'll be back soon" she gave him another kiss and walked out.

Nick looked at Frannie who was lying on the floor. He sat down next to her "Frannie, what are we going to do to keep your mom safe?" he asked her. She just stared back at him.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

_Again, than you all for the reviews, I'm glad you find the story interesting. _

* * *

Amanda couldn't help it, she was still surprised he was there.

On the way there she made sure no one was following her. His suitcase was packed. He put it in the car and she drove him to the safe house. She didn't drive straight there, even though she couldn't see anything suspicious she still had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

They didn't say a word to each other during the ride. When they entered the house he looked around and she could tell he wanted to say something.

She suddenly felt a sense of sadness, she couldn't explain it, she didn't want to feel like this. Why did he come back? Why was she helping him? She could get in trouble, she could get Nick into trouble. Why couldn't he stay away?

Why did he have to leave without her?

She made her way back to Nick's apartment after telling her father she'll be back tomorrow. She had to figure out her next move but couldn't think straight.

She got back to Nick's house and he had the sweetest smile when he opened the door.

"I got you something while you were gone" he said.

"Yeah?"

"Here" he handed her a plastic bag "it's a disposable cell phone"

"Thank you" why didn't she think about it?

He looked at her as she placed the bag of the table. She looked at it and all of the sudden her expression changed and he could see tears in her eyes.

He walked over to her and embraced her as she cried without saying anything.

She calmed down after a little while, but didn't want to pull away yet.

"It's going to be fine" he whispered.

After they pulled away they tried watching something on TV but couldn't concentrate. They ended up in bed and this time Nick took his time and made sure to feel every inch of her under his mouth.

She fell asleep afterwards. He'd be proud of himself for exhausting her if he could be sure she was tired because of him and not because she was in this situation, he could see it was taking a toll on her.

But what else could he do to help?

She didn't sleep long. He watched her waking up and stretching a little.

"Good morning" he teased.

"Did I sleep that long?" she asked with a smile "you really wore me out" she mumbled as she turned around on her stomach.

He chuckled "it was my pleasure" he whispered close to her ear and let his hand rest on her exposed back "I'm available whenever you can't sleep"

"Good to know" she turned her face to him and he lay his head next to hers, they just looked at each other for a while, his hand still resting on her back.

"I should go" she whispered.

He really didn't want her to leave. He wanted to spend the rest of the day as close to her as possible. He had plans with Gil on Sunday and he was pretty sure he won't get a chance to see her again before they had to go back to work.

"Stay just a little longer" he gave her a peck on the lips.

They ended up staying in bed for about half an hour, just kissing and being close to each other. But she had to go. He watched her getting dressed and she gave him one last kiss before she left.

* * *

She wanted to drop by and give him the cell phone. It was a good thing Nick bought it. She said she'd be back tomorrow but decided not to wait. The apartment wasn't close to Nick's place but she thought it would be good to walk. Frannie liked long walks and so did Amanda.

He was surprised to see her.

"I brought you something" she said and handed him the bag "it's for emergencies"

"You got one too?"

"No, they can't trace it to you so I can just say it's a work thing or something"

"Well thank you"

"Yeah" she looked around the apartment "you need me to get you anything?"

"I have some food, there's a store near by"

"You shouldn't leave too much"

"This reminds me of the…" he stopped talking when he realized she probably doesn't want to hear about his first days in WITSEC.

"Of what?" she asked.

"The rules the Marshals had"

"What was it like?"

"Weird at first" he answered "the Marshal they assigned me, Marco Diaz, he was this no nonsense guy, you know? He questioned me about the gambling and demanded I get treatment. I'm clean, have been ever since. I told you before it made me understand my mistakes with you and your mom. How are they? Your mom and Kim"

It was a question she dreaded, should she tell him the truth? He doesn't know anything about them, and they've been through a lot. She didn't want to talk about it.

"They're…fine, I guess"

"And you? How are you doing?"

It took her a while to answer, but she decided against telling him the whole truth "I'm alright" she said and he nodded.

"Starting over, it gives you a lot of time to think" he said "there's no way for me to atone what I've done. I'm not asking you for anything and I know that you helping me can be dangerous. I'm just…" he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. She was so grown up but he could see the little girl she used to be. Always responsible, always trying to help. If he could turn back time he would have never started gambling, he would have been the father she deserves.

"Amanda?"

"Yeah?"

He didn't answer for a while and she waited "can I give you a hug?" he finally said.

Now it was her turn not to respond but she eventually nodded and moved towards him. The hug felt a bit awkward.

He remembered one time, when she was maybe four, she was running around in the park. She brought him a couple of rocks she said she liked and ran away to get more, he wasn't sure why but let her be. When she came back she was crying, he could see she had some blood on her knees and he rushed to her.

"I fell" she cried "I have a wound"

"Oh" he said "let me look at the wound" she only had some scratches, nothing serious "you are so brave, you know" he told her.

"Yeah?" she asked between sobs.

"Yes you are" and he hugged her, he put one arm around her lower back, and one just under her neck and held her close. It calmed her down and when she pulled away she stopped crying.

She wiped her eyes with her hand and smiled to him, she was so cute, with dry tears and a bit of mud on her face.

"I need to get more rocks" she said and ran away.

He remembered that Amanda now, and placed one hand on her lower back and the other under her neck, and even though she was much older, he felt like it calmed her down a little.

* * *

Amanda stopped for some food on the way home. The state of her fridge was embarrassing. Not that she minded spending more time at Nick's place, he always kept food at his place. But if she was being honest with herself she had to admit that she preferred it when they met at her apartment.

She wasn't going to see him tomorrow anyway, he was spending the day with his son. And she wasn't sure how to spend this Sunday, she wanted to catch a meeting but it would only keep her busy for a couple hours. Should she go back to her dad? It felt weird earlier. He hugged her and she felt, safer? She was surprised it made her feel this way. But the whole situation was weird. She still had no idea what she was going to do.

When Amanda reached her apartment she saw someone leaning on her door. She recognized him, he looked at her and smiled.

"Detective Rollins" he said "nice to see you again"

"Deputy Hawkins" what was he doing at her place?


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

* * *

"Deputy Hawkins" Amanda said "what are you doing here?"

He looked at Frannie for a moment, but she was calm "I need to talk to you, if that's ok" he answered.

She knew a lot about interrogating, and one of the rules was that if someone refuses to talk to you – he has something to hide.

"Of course" she answered at him "would you like to come in?"

"Thank you" he smiled.

She unlocked the door "come on in" she invited him "can I offer you anything to drink?"

"That's ok, thank you"

She poured water into Frannie bowl and looked back at Hawkins "how can I help?"

"I'm afraid I have to ask you the same thing I did back at your precinct"

"About my father? Why are you asking about him all of the sudden, it's been more then twenty year . Is there something I should know?"

He smiled at her. He knew she wasn't going to make it easy, she was trying to get information from him.

"Let's be honest" she kept talking "you are a Marshal who's looking for my dad. Is he a fugitive?"

"As I said before, he's a person of interest, we're interested in questioning him. That's all"

She took a deep breath and gave him a crooked smile "you know, my dad left when I was nine, I haven't seen him since then. So if you see him again you can tell him I'm doing fine without him" she tried to sound hurt, but it also felt good to say it, just let it out.

"I'm sorry for what you've been through" he said "but you need to understand that this is important, we have reasons to believe he's in New York, and if he contacts you" he paused for a second "you could be in great danger" he gave her a moment to think about it.

"If I see him I promise to call" she said.

"Ok then" he smiled "thank you detective".

He walked out and she locked the door behind him. This was not good at all.

She figured that since Hawkins came to talk to her they didn't know where her father was. This meant no one was following her. But if they are getting impatient then they will get someone to do that.

She sat on the couch and rested her head in her hands. Something inside her wanted to trust her dad, she was always on his side. Even after he left she blamed her mother. Sure, her mom was no saint, but she didn't leave her.

Amanda didn't like to think about her childhood. Whenever she mentioned something about those days she tried to sound cool about it, but the truth was it wasn't easy for her. She knew her parents had problems, they were fighting constantly. Still, she wasn't unhappy, she had an ability to see the good. And there were good things, spending time with her dad watching TV, playing games.

He taught her how to play Blackjack, which in retrospect wasn't a good idea, but it was fun then.

What if he lied to her? What if he wasn't in WITSEC all this time, or maybe he was, and now wanted to use her somehow. Maybe he's gambling again and this is his way to get money.

She leaned back on the couch, Frannie got on it and laid in her lap.

The truth was, that even after all this time she believed him, or wanted to. She picked up her phone and called Fin. She asked him to meet her at the station the next day.

* * *

Fin didn't like spending time at work when he didn't have to, this job had crazy hours as it is, so he was grateful for every weekend he didn't have to show up.

When Amanda called the evening before, he was surprised, she only asked him to meet her at work on Sunday. It sounded important so he said he'll be there.

He loved working with Amanda. She was like the sister he never had. She was cool and interesting. But she also had many problems. The gambling thing, it was out of control at some point.

He was happy she reached out. Amaro was suspicious of something, and Fin didn't want to ignore it, not after he could have lost her last time. Loosing some of his Sunday was a small price to pay.

She waited for him there "thanks for coming" she said.

"You know I'd do anything for you" he smiled at her and she smiled right back.

They found a private spot to talk and Amanda filled him in on what was going on.

"So your dad was in witness protection?"

"That's what he says, and now this Marshal is looking for him, I just don't know what to think"

"But you want to believe your old man, ha?" he asked.

"I don't know" she said.

"Of course you do" he smiled at her "I get that. How can I help?"

"I need to find information about the guy he testified against, Carl Jeffries"

"Lets do it then"

They used Fin's computer to look for information about Jeffries, and none of it was good.

About thirty years ago Carl Jeffries was only a petty thief. He met the head of a big crime family in Georgia and started working for them and expended their business. As he got richer and more powerful he wanted more. So he decided the only way to get that is to get rid of the current head of the family.

That was the first time he killed a man. But not the last. He made sure anyone who opposed his new role paid with his life. Soon, not surprisingly, no one did.

He built an illegal gambling empire, smuggling and prostitution rings. Soon Georgia wasn't enough and he tried to spread his businesses to other states as well.

And he was pretty successful. Whoever caused problems was killed. He usually had someone to do his dirty work, but once in a while he missed it and killed people himself.

The officers and agents had to work hard to find something, but nothing stuck. He was good. They decided the best way to catch him would be an undercover operation. They sent two agents. For a while it was working, they got some good information.

But he found out who they really were and decided he will get the honor of killing them. He invited them to the first club he opened in Georgia, he was somewhat nostalgic. He told them he wants to talk to them in the back. But there was no conversation. He shot both of them and got one of his men to get rid of the gun.

He did not expect what happened next. The agents surrounded the place and arrested him. He wasn't worried. He had good lawyers and he knew how to hide anything that connected him to the club. But there was a witness.

He did his best to find him but it looked like the agents were doing a good job, no one knew who he was.

By the time they reached the trial the number of the people who were loyal to him went down drastically. Even when he finally learned the name of that man who thought it was a good idea to testify, there was no one he could trust to find him. So he decided to wait. He was a patient man.

"Maybe your father is a brave man, not everyone would testify against a guy like that" Fin said after they finished going through what they could find about Jeffries.

"If he's telling the truth" Amanda said.

"Come on Amanda, I know he hurt you, but maybe he thought it was the best thing" Fin looked at her "and it does say he died not long ago, your father said he was still alive?"

Amanda thought about the newspaper her father showed her. She knew the man in the picture was Jeffries, she had no doubt about it. But she didn't remember what newspaper it was.

"What are you thinking about?" Fin asked, he could see she had something on her mind.

"Maybe there is someone I can talk to" she told him.

"Who?"

"I'm going to talk to the man who started it" she answered.

"I hope you don't mean Jeffries" he said, a bit worried.

Amanda wasn't thinking about Jeffries. There was another person who was involved in this from the start.

Marco Diaz, the first Marshal. But how could she find a retired Marshal when another one was suspicious of her?

* * *

_We are starting to get some answers…_


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns.

* * *

On Monday Amanda got to the precinct early. She was waiting for a call.

"Hey" Nick smiled at her when he walked in "how are you doing?"

"Ok, and you" she smiled "how did it go with Gil yesterday?"

"We had fun. He asked about Frannie"

"Yeah?"

He looked around to make sure no one was listening "that day you met him, he asked if you were my girlfriend"

Amanda looked uncomfortable "what did you say?"

"That I wasn't sure" he gave her a big smile "what was I supposed to say?" when she didn't answer he moved closer and whispered "I wasn't going to say that you're my lover" she frowned and looked back at her screen. He walked away with a grin on his face.

The phone on her desk rang and she answered "Rollins" she listened to the person on the other line "ok, thank you" she hung up.

Fin just walked in and waved at her as he made his way to grab some coffee. She walked over to him.

"I've got to go for a while, I'll be back soon" she told him.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just have to go do something" she said.

"No worries, I'll cover for you" she smiled and thanked him.

* * *

Lieutenant Declan Murphy was dedicated to his job, it was his priority. That was the reason he didn't have a family. He realized long ago that he couldn't be a family man, he didn't want to put a wife and children in a constant state of waiting for him while he was undercover.

He loved it and he was good at it. There were many blurry lines and he learned when you can cross them and when you cannot. Being undercover for many years he got to be involved in a lot of complicated situations. One of them involved detective Amanda Rollins.

He knew she was about to hit rock bottom and something inside him wanted to give her a chance. He realized he was right when she lied about not being able to follow the juror, she had a problem, but still didn't want to hurt others. It was a good sign.

He trusted her, she was a good detective. But there was something about her, he'd seen it before.

He knew her dad was a gambler and that had he left when she was young, people who go through something like that can have issues with authority figures.

He asked her about it, whether she had a blind spot for man in a position of power. She didn't answer, but he could see she was thinking about it. Whatever the answer, he only wished her well.

He was taken aback by what she just told him about her father, he was not expecting this.

"That's complicated" he said "sounds like your father may have gotten a second chance back then"

"Yeah" she nodded, not missing his insinuating tone "the thing is…I think maybe there is someone I can talk to but I can't find him, not without anyone knowing"

"So that's what you need my help with?" she nodded "I can't promise anything, but I'll try. Who is it?"

"Deputy US Marshal Marco Diaz" she answered and Murphy smiled, never a dull moment.

* * *

He didn't tell her how, and she didn't want to know, but Murphy was able to find where Diaz was spending his retirement. He had a place in Vermont. She figured if she worked a double shift she could make it there by morning and stay long enough to talk to him.

"Hey" she smiled at Nick when she caught him alone in the kitchen.

"Hey" he smiled.

"Remember how you said Gil was asking about Frannie?" Nick nodded "would you mind watching her later? I'm working a double shift and I have to drive somewhere afterwards, I can't take her with me"

"I don't mind watching Frannie, where are you going?"

"I'll tell you later, when I'll come by your place" she said "Thanks"

"No problem" he smiled.

* * *

It was a long and grueling day, she had to go interview a victim, arrange a lineup, search for a witness in the park and of course, paperwork. She was so tired by the end of her double shift she wasn't sure she could make it home.

But Amanda knew this might be her only chance, so she picked up Frannie and was finally on her way to Nick's place. He had a big smile on his face when he saw them "come in" he said, he could see she was tired.

"I brought Frannie some food" she gave him a bag and he laid in on the floor.

"I talked to Tom today, he went by the safe house"

"Oh" she said, she figured it would be best if she didn't go there right now. Her father didn't call and she hoped it's a sign that he is ok, and not that he left.

"He didn't go in" Nick continued "but he thinks it looks clean, no one seems to be watching it or anything" she smiled, hopefully everything is fine.

"So where are you going?" he asked.

"Vermont" she smiled, he looked confused "I found out where Marco Diaz lives, that's my dad's first Marshal, the one who got him in to the program"

"How did you find him?" she looked away, contemplating whether she should tell him.

"What is it?" he asked, wondering why she seemed reluctant to answer.

"Murphy" she replied.

"I see" he looked down, he didn't like Murphy, and had no idea Amanda was in contact with him "isn't he undercover?" he wanted to know.

"Yeah, but there's this number he gave me and…" she saw the look on his face, he was upset "Nick" she walked over to him "come on" he looked at her now, but his expression stayed the same.

"Look Nick, I know you don't like him but I trust him, he helped me out" she sounded a little pissed off.

"Yeah…" he put his hands on his waist and looked at her.

"You know what? I don't know why you feel this way, but..." she looked away for a moment "back then, what he did saved my life, ok? I was in the lowest of lows and if it wasn't for him I'd probably be six feet under now"

He was about to say something but she didn't give him a chance to "and you know what else, he didn't ask for anything in return. Other people they always…" he waited for her to finish the sentence but realized she wasn't going to.

"Amanda" he touched her arm gently "I know you've been through things, and I understand if you don't want to talk about it" she looked at him as he continued "but you need to know I'm not going to let you fall, ok?" she nodded and he smiled "You want me to make you some coffee? You have a long way"

"I'd like that" she smiled and kissed him.

He made her coffee and she filled her thermal cup with it. He knew she had to leave but didn't want to let her go, he had a bad feeling, and the fact her lips felt so good under his made it even worse.

* * *

_Sorry for the shorter chapter, the next one is coming very soon. I hope the trip to Vermont makes sense, I'm not from the US so I just looked at a map and sent her there _


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns

_Hey readers._

_I updated chapter 7 and 8 very close to each other, so make sure you read chapter 8 as well._

_I'm going on a vacation so it might be a while until I update. I hope you like this chapter. Please review if you feel like it, I love reading them._

* * *

Being completely honest, Amanda had to admit she wanted to stay with Nick tonight. To forget everything and just lie in his arms. Was she doing the right thing?

She couldn't let it go now anyway. Whatever the truth was, she had to know. She had to talk to Marco Diaz.

* * *

Marco Diaz was a man who believed in second chances. Ever since he was young he felt that events described by others as miracles were second chances. He saw people let them go, but he saw others seize them.

He was fascinated by the fact people could turn their lives around. He found himself wanting to be a part of something like that, to help people go on a new path, change for the better. Psychology seemed like the perfect fit for him. But he couldn't afford to go to college, he came from a poor family and there was no way they could help him.

He had to go with plan B. He joined the army with the hope to get the funding for school. As it often happens, those plans were scrapped.

He met his future wife and decided to focus on a career that will benefit from his army experience. Accepting a position with the Marshal US service seemed like the right thing to do. After joining WITSEC it looked as if he was going to be a part in people's second chances.

Of course it was not easy. It was a drastic change for the people in the program, whether they were regular people who witnessed a crime or the criminals. There were times things went smoothly and tough cases, not all ending for the better.

And then there was Tim Rollins.

When he got that case he also got a conversation with his boss saying they needed to make sure he testifies. He was supposed to testify against a big fish so they _had_ to make sure of that.

But Diaz didn't like Tim. He felt there was something off with him, he had a gambling problem, he tried to make it seem like it was no big deal, but Diaz could see it was a very big deal.

He ended up threatening him – testifying after getting help, or jail. They could find something to charge him with. So Tim made the right choice, and ended up surprising Diaz.

One of the hardest parts was dealing With Tim's Family. He told them there is no way his wife would agree to go, they could barely look at each other, and she wouldn't let him take the girls. Because of the animosity between the two it was dangerous to tell her the truth, they feared she might end up telling someone, which would threaten Tim and the whole family. So they had one option left, he had to disappear. He made one last call, told his wife about the divorce, she didn't want him to talk to his daughters. After all that he started his new life.

Diaz promised to make sure the girls are safe. He went there himself once in a while for a year. There was no one suspicious, not anyone connected to Jeffries. Even though he watched from afar it was clear things were not easy in that house. He felt sorry for the girls, the mother wasn't really there all the time, and it seemed as if the older daughter had to raise the little one.

Diaz didn't blame the mother, he was certain it was hard for her to live with Tim, both of them had problems and were bad for each other. But he hoped she could try harder for the girls.

After a year with no visible threats from Jeffries he stopped checking in on the family. When years later, just before his retirement, he broke the rules for Tim, he couldn't say he was surprised. The older daughter was now a detective and the young one was wanted for murder. Obviously he left the murder charges out when he told him he couldn't find anything.

He found retirement soothing, he enjoyed the stress less days, doing nothing, resting. His wife said it was only because it hasn't been too long. He promised her he's done with that life. But he thought he could be wrong when he saw the car parking next to the house.

He questioned his eyesight for a moment when he saw her. But it was her. He would have recognized her even if he hadn't seen her picture not so long ago. Amanda Rollins. This could not be good.

He stood up as she approached him "detective Amanda Rollins" he said, she didn't look surprised that he knew who she was.

"Deputy US Marshal Diaz"

"Retired" he smiled and they shook hands.

He offered her some coffee, she looked pretty tired.

"You must have some connections, if you found me here" he smiled "I do have a feeling you come here bearing bad news" he said after he gave her the cup and she took a few sips.

"Well deputy…"

"You call me Marco and I'll call you Amanda, is that alright?" she nodded.

"Well, Marco, I'm here to find some answers, about my dad"

"I see, is he in trouble?"

"I'm not sure if he's in trouble or if he's the trouble" she smiled "I don't know if I can trust him"

"The fact you're here means that something's wrong, but it also means you care"

"That's true" she nodded, she didn't want to tell him everything "I just want to know if what he told me about him being at WITSEC is true"

"I shouldn't be telling you this" he smiled "but he was" he looked at her, she took another sip of the coffee, it was probably pretty cold by now "you know" he got up to pour her another cup "I didn't like your father when I met him. I didn't have a choice, I had to get him into the program. And he didn't have a choice either. I wish I could tell you we did everything right, but that's not true" he sat back down and looked at her for a moment "there's nothing I can say to make this into something else, it is what it is. He left, it hurt, I know"

Amanda was quiet, she just listened.

"But I do believe he changed, he didn't get in trouble all this years. I'm guessing there's something now, that's why you're here right?"

Amanda smiled, it sure was.

She didn't tell him everything. Not because she didn't trust him, on the contrary, she trusted him, she couldn't explain why, but she did.

Murphy told her he heard he was a good guy, so maybe, if he though so, her dad was too? Maybe she could trust him.

She felt hopeful, and it was a really good feeling.

* * *

Parking the car Amanda realized how tired she was. She didn't have much time left before she had to go to work. Maybe she could ask Fin to cover for her so she could sleep for at least an hour. But she decided against is, she would do her best not to fall asleep at work. The thought made her frown, as if she needed to get into more trouble with Olivia. She still had to work hard to earn her trust back.

Amanda half expected Frannie to jump on her when she opened the door. But then she remembered she's at Nick's. Now that thought made her smile.

She walked in and was about to turn around to close the door but she felt someone push her inside. He placed his hand on her mouth and kicked the door with his foot at the same time. She heard it slam shut.

Amanda wasn't weak, she could fight if she was attacked. But not this time, he was too fast. Amanda Felt the knife go into her abdomen, and then she felt it again.

He let her go and she fell on the floor. She heard the door open and close.

She didn't feel any pain for a few seconds, but then she felt like her stomach was on fire. Her heart was beating very fast, as if it would pop out of her body. Fear washed all over her, and she was cold but could feel sweat forming on her forehead.

She had to close her eyes, they were just so heavy. But even with her eye lids shut, she felt like she could still see the blood coming out of her body.

But then she didn't feel anything anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm so glad you like my fic.

* * *

Amanda didn't call him.

Nick was a bit upset about it. Maybe she was offended by their conversation about Murphy? She didn't seem hurt when she left. She did look tired though.

"Have you seen Rollins?" it was Liv.

"Not since yesterday" he said, not mentioning the exact part of yesterday he'd last seen her.

"Fin?" she asked but he shook his head.

Nick could see Liv wasn't happy with this. Why would she be late? She tried to work hard to prove herself to Olivia, she wouldn't just give up on that, and for what?

Maybe she fell asleep?

The thought made Nick smile. That's probably it, she had a long day yesterday and she didn't get any sleep. He could imagine her sitting for a moment on her couch, closing her eyes – for just a second – and just drifting off.

"I'll call her" Fin said and dialed. Nick looked at him, she didn't seem to pick up.

"Just tell her to get here fast" Liv said and walked to her office.

"No luck?" Nick asked after Fin tried again.

"No"

"I'll go check on her" Nick said, he figured Fin already knew most of what was happening "she drove to Vermont yesterday, to talk to some guy, asked me to watch her dog"

"Diaz?" Fin asked and Nick nodded "Oh man" he smiled "I'm sure she's snoring real loud right now"

* * *

Driving to Amanda's place Nick wondered what she found out from Diaz. Hopefully he managed to shed some light on the whole thing. Nick knew she wanted to believe her father, who wouldn't? He just wanted everything to be resolved, for her.

He knocked on the door a few times but she didn't answer. What if she's still there? Or on her way back?

He tried calling her. Something seemed strange, he could hear a sound coming from her apartment.

It was her phone.

He knocked again, louder this time, and tried to both knock and call at the same time. But she didn't answer.

He could break the door if he had too, but he decided to try it first. The fact that it was unlocked worried him. But then he saw her.

She was lying in a pool of blood.

He hurried to her side, he could see her eyes were closed, her arms rested near her stomach. She was so pale.

For a moment he could only stare at her, but he came to his senses and called an ambulance. While waiting Nick tried to stop the bleeding, he put pressure on what seemed to be the wound, her blouse was now soaked with blood and he couldn't see clearly.

It felt like hours until the ambulance showed up. The EMTs took over quickly, getting her on the gurney. He could see them exchange a look. He said he'd ride with them to the hospital and they got down quickly.

He glanced back on the way out before he closed the door, the blood didn't look real. It couldn't be. There was so much of it. Nick felt like he couldn't breathe.

* * *

The ride to the hospital was a blur. Nick remembered the EMT asking him questions and he did his best to answer, but he felt useless. What was her blood type? He didn't know. Allergies? He thought she didn't have any.

He didn't know what happened. The EMT made a call to the hospital to let them know it was a stab wound, major blood loss. He watched him inject something into her vein.

He couldn't keep his eyes off her. She was lying there but it didn't seem like her, it was like looking at a ghost. The though made Nick feel sick, he had to close his eyes.

Finally the ambulance stopped and they moved her to a gurney. The EMT said something to the doctor as they made their way inside.

Nick stood there, staring at the door.

"Are you with her?" he heard a voice, it was a nurse.

"Yes" he managed to say.

"Lets go inside, you should wash your hands"

He looked down, his palms were red. It was Amanda's blood.

* * *

Washing the blood off his hands almost hurt. The water carrying it away made it feel almost unreal to him. But it was.

He couldn't wash away the picture of her on the floor no matter how many times he washed his face.

He called Fin to let him know he was at the hospital and then he just had to sit down and wait.

"Nick! What's going on?" Liv asked him, she had a worried look, matching Fin's. Nick didn't even notice them approaching him.

He shook his head and told them how the door was unlocked and how he saw her there.

"Nick" she said and gestured at his shirt, he wasn't aware he had blood on his shirt until now.

"Crap" he whispered.

"What did the doctors say?" Fin asked.

"Nothing yet, they took her somewhere. I don't know anything" he sighed, why didn't he check in on her earlier? He should have gone with her, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Nick?" he looked at Olivia, she must have asked him something and he wasn't listening "I asked if Amanda's in trouble again, do you know if she's gambling?"

"No" Nick answered and looked at Fin "no, I think she's been working really hard on staying clean, she…"

"It ain't about that Liv" Fin said "Amanda's dad's in town" he told Liv everything he knew.

She just looked at both of them, she did not expect this. She didn't know anything about Amanda's father.

"I'll go to her apartment, CSU is there now, I'm going to ask the detective who's handling the case to let us look in to it, let me know when you hear anything"

Fin followed Olivia with his eyes until she left "want me to go get you a shirt from the gift shop?" he asked Nick.

"Thanks" he tried to smile but just couldn't.

* * *

Amanda was standing in a beautiful garden.

The sky was clear, and there was a light wind blowing. She was barefoot and the grass felt soft underneath her feet. The flowers were colorful and it made her smile.

Walking felt so easy, it felt more like floating. She took a deep breath and the fresh air filled her lungs.

It was peaceful and Amanda felt calmer than she ever remembered being.

Walking through the garden the scenery started to change, the grass turned into sand and she was at a beach.

Still it felt nice, she could see and hear seagulls. She got closer to the water. The blue dress she was wearing in the garden turned into a one-piece swimsuit and she wanted to go into the water.

The water surrounding her body felt warm. Coming up everything changed again.

She was standing somewhere. She had no idea where, everything was dark. She carefully reached out to feel anything but there was nothing close to her. She panicked. She felt that the walls, if there were any, were closing in on her and she couldn't breath. She tried to move but it hurt, still she didn't want to just stand there.

She moved slowly without knowing where she's going. Suddenly she heard a noise she didn't recognize, she turned around and saw something.

It was a white spot somewhere far from her, she felt like she must reach it. She walked to the white spot, getting closer she felt both better and worst. Her head hurt, her body was aching but she needed to touch it, to know what it was.

The spot seemed to be growing, but as it did and as Amanda got closer she felt her feet going numb, the numbness was climbing, and soon she didn't feel anything anymore.

And suddenly it was all clear, it was a light. And it was swallowing her.


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns

* * *

He was wearing the T-shirt Fin bough, he through the other one, not ever wanting to see it. Finally they saw the doctor coming out of the hallway, Nick tried to read the doctor's expression as he approached them, it felt like he was moving in slow motion. He could see Fin was trying to read him too. Never in his career had he felt unable to do so as now.

"How is she?" Fin asked once the doctor was close enough.

"She is stable" he said, all Nick could grasp was that she is alive, at least she's alive "she lost a lot of blood" the doctor explained "if it'd been only a few more minutes then we would be having a different conversation" he took a little breath "We had to take her to surgery to stop the bleeding, but there is no organ damage" he took another breath, to let all the information sink in before he continued "but, I'm afraid the fact she's been shot and got an infection before makes her susceptible to another one so we will keep a close eye on her"

"Can we see her?" Fin asked.

"We're taking her to recovery, the nurse will call you soon"

"Thank you doctor" Nick said and the doctor left.

"I should call Liv" Fin said and Nick nodded. He had to make a call too.

* * *

"Amaro, how's it going?" the voice on the other line asked.

"It's fine" Nick lied, it was far from it "listen Tom, I need a favor, another one"

"What is it?" Tom asked.

""I need you to check that safe house, see if everything is fine there"

"Is there a problem?" Tom got the feeling something was wrong.

"Maybe, could you go in there?"

"You want me to check in on who ever it is your friend's hiding there?"

"Yeah" Nick answered "please"

"Ok" Tom agreed "I'll do it and let you know"

"Thank you"

He had to make sure Amanda's father was fine. Since Tom gave Amanda the address he didn't know where the safe house was, and even if he had known, there was no way he would leave without seeing her. He just wanted to look at her, make sure she breaths, touch her skin, her hair. To know she is alive, that would make everything else bearable.

Fin approached him "I talked to Liv, let her know what's going on" he said "SCU are finishing up at her place" Nick nodded "she'll be back here later"

A nurse walked over to them "detectives" they both looked at her "you can go in and see her now"

"How is she?" Fin asked.

"She is still asleep, the anesthesia should wear off soon, we'll know better than" she said and showed them to Amanda's room.

She had a bag with what seemed to be Amanda's thing in it and she placed it on the side table next to the bed and left.

They both stared at her for a moment. She looked so pale.

Nick felt a little dizzy he had to get out of there for a moment "I'll be right back" he told Fin, trying to sound as calm as possible, but he felt like he couldn't breathe.

Seeing her didn't make it better, what if she doesn't make it? She was still in danger, critical, the doctor said. Her face, she was so pale, how long has it been since he'd seen her? Kissed her lips, it couldn't have been that long but he couldn't remember.

He had to go out of the hospital, the walls were closing in on him. He felt like he could breathe when he was out of there. He took a couple of deep breaths and tried to fight the tears in his eyes, he has to go back there, he's not leaving her ever again.

"You ok?" Fin asked when Nick returned.

"Yeah" he answered.

"I've got to go call Liv, make sure someone will be guarding the room" Fin looked at Amanda before he walked out.

Nick sat on the chair next to the bed. Even though she was asleep she didn't look calm, whenever she fell asleep next to him he felt she looked serene. But now everything felt different, he held her hand and the skin didn't feel the same as the previous night, that's the last time they'd seen each other. He remembered kissing her, missing her when she left his house.

He shouldn't have let her go, not alone anyway. Why didn't he grab her and make her stay? The thought made him chuckle, as if Amanda would've let him do that.

He saw her stir a bit and looked at her face. She opened her eyes slightly.

"Hey" he smiled and kissed her palm.

She mumbled something and he kissed her again "Nick" she whispered.

"How are you feeling?" he knew it was a stupid question right now but he wasn't sure what else to say.

She closed her eyes again.

"You remember what happened?" he asked.

She didn't answer but slowly turned to look at him, he smiled at her and tried to kiss her palm again but she pulled her hand from him and turned away.

"Amanda?" he asked, he looked behind him, maybe she saw someone coming, but there was no one there "what is it?" he asked and got closer to her.

She looked at him again, every move seemed hard for her to make "Nick" she said quietly "you shouldn't…don't…"

"It's ok Amanda, you're safe" he tried to reassure her but she shook her head a little.

"You should go" she managed to say but he wasn't sure he heard her right "please Nick" she said once he held her hand in his again.

"What are you talking about? I'm not leaving you"

"It's too dangerous" she pulled her hand again and gently placed it on her lower abdomen, close to the wound "if they know, they might…might hurt you"

Nick had to smile a little, she was worried about him "hey" he whispered "I'll be safe, I promise"

But his answer didn't satisfy her, she shook her head "Amanda" he said "I love you, I'm not leaving"

He could see her eyes were tearing up a little "no" she said, a little bit louder now "you have a son" she closed her eyes "you need to stay away"

Her words stung, he understood she was only saying it to protect him and his son, but she needs him too. He can't just leave her, no, he loves her. It didn't even feel like a big deal to say it, it was the truth.

She looked at him again, he didn't know what else to say.

"Please go" she whispered and now he could see a tear rolling down her chick. He wanted to wipe it and kiss her lips but didn't want to upset her. He got up and left the room.

Standing in the hallway he rubbed his eyes a little. Fin walked over to him with an officer "this is officer Malagan" he introduced him "detective Amaro" they shook hands.

"She awake?" Fin asked.

Nick nodded "she seems tired though"

"I'll go in for a little while" Fin said "maybe you should let the doctor know she's up" he suggested.

"I'll do that" he agreed and Fin entered Amanda's room "make sure she's safe" Nick told the officer and walked away to find the doctor.

* * *

Through and through.

That's what Amanda said when he walked in to her room after she was shot. It's been so long but Fin still remembered it. She got hurt because she was his partner and he'd never forgotten about it. He felt guilty about it even though she said that's what partners do. He'd take a bullet for her too, or a stabbing. She was a good partner and he cared about her.

She looked different then the other time she was at the hospital. No happy juice, she wasn't smiling.

"Hey partner" he said and sat on the chair. She looked at him but didn't say anything "want to tell me what happened?"

She shook her head but after a couple of minutes she spoke "I got home" she said "he was right behind and…"

"Did you see anything?" he asked after she got quiet for a while.

"He had gloves and a mask I think, I felt it against my face when he held me" she closed hey eyes. Fin could see it was hard for her to talk, she looked weak and tired.

The doctor walked into the room "glad to see you awake" he said.

Fin stood up "I'll come back later" he said "take care of her doc"

* * *

Nick was outside of the hospital again. He decided not to listen to her, he's not going to leave. He sat down on a bench and just stared at nothing. It felt good not to think, not to feel, even if it lasted just a few seconds. His phone vibrated and he answered.

"Nick" it was Tom.

"Yeah"

"Listen man, I'm at the safe house" he said "there's no body in here"

* * *

_tbc..._


	12. Chapter 12

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns

* * *

_Hey readers,_

_Thanks for taking the time to read the fic and thank you so much for the reviews. It really means a lot to me that you like reading my stories. I'm working on this one and on the last part of the "everything and nothing" (aka the pregnancy story) trilogy, but I think I'm going to finish this one before I post the other fic._

_Enjoy and let me know what you think : )_

* * *

"What?" Nick asked.

"There's nobody in here" Tom repeated.

"What do you mean there's nobody?"

"I mean" he said "the safe house is empty, no sign someone's been staying here"

"No clothes? No nothing?" Nick asked even though he already knew what the other man was going to say.

Tom wanted to give a sarcastic answer but he had a feeling this was not the right time "nothing, everything is just as it was before I gave her the key" he said.

Nick didn't speak for a moment "is there a sign of a struggle? Anything suspicious?" he finally asked.

"Nothing like that, it looks clean. I mean, are you sure she brought someone here?"

"Yes, she did" Nick answered "Thank you Tom, I really appreciate your help"

"No problem" Tom was a little worried but decided not to say anything, he figured that if Nick needs is help he would call him again.

Hanging up Nick wished he could stop thinking. What did this mean? He knew Amanda took her father to the safe house, and now he's gone?

Did someone find him? Whoever if was that was maybe after him. Or was he…no, Nick didn't want to even consider the possibility. There's no way he was behind this.

Right?

* * *

Fin was outside of Amanda's room when Nick got back. He was watching the doctor say something to the nurse, they were looking at her chart and something else, probably test results.

"What's going on?" Nick asked him Fin shook his head.

The nurse stepped out of the room and the doctor followed her. He stopped in front of them and they both looked worried.

"Detectives, as I said before, there is a high risk of infection and she has a slight fever. I don't want to take any risks so we will start with antibiotics. We will monitor her closely"

"Thanks doc" fin said and the doctor walked away "she just can't catch a break" he said.

"Yeah" Nick agreed, Amanda's been through a lot and she didn't like talking about it, she always wanted to deal with things alone, he was the same, but he should have been there for her more.

"What's your take on this?"

"What?" Nick asked, he wasn't listening.

"What do you think is going on?"

"I wish I knew, I don't even think she knows"

"Maybe she does know something, I mean maybe that's why…"

"Could be" Nick agreed "you have a point but I really don't know"

"Do you know anything about the guy she visited in Vermont?"

"Diaz?" Nick asked and Fin nodded "she said he was her father's Marshal, he got him into the program"

"And who's the other Marshal she talked to, you know his name?" Nick shook his head, she never told him his name, but she probably has his card somewhere.

"We've got to talk to him" Fin said "we need to find out what's going on"

"We'll do that"

"And we need to find her father, she didn't tell me where he is though" Fin saw Nick looking at the floor "what is it? You know something?"

Nick looked at Fin "she asked me to help her find a safe house through a friend who's at Narcotics"

"So you've known where he is all this time?" Fin got a little closer to Nick, he didn't want to raise his voice but he wasn't happy about this.

"I had no idea, he gave Amanda the address" Nick answered "and the thing is I asked my friend to check on him and he's not there"

"He isn't there?"

"No, my friend said there's no sign of foul play or anything else, like he wasn't even there"

"So he's gone?" Nick nodded "Amanda knows?"

"He just told me about it, I called after she was…"

"You know what?" Fin said "we are going to get to the bottom of this no matter what"

"Yeah, I'm in" Nick said, ignoring Amanda's request.

"First thing we need to talk to that Marshal who was at the precinct"

"I think she has his card somewhere in her desk"

"I'm gonna look for it and call you when I find him" Fin said and walked away.

Nick entered Amanda's room. He was glad she was still asleep, it meant he could sit by her side. A nurse came and hooked an IV drip. She smiled at Nick "that's the antibiotics" she said and he nodded. The nurse left after writing something in the chart.

He just watched her, his eyes exploring her face, he loved looking at her, but he wanted to see her smiling, lying in his bed, not in a hospital bed, sick.

He heard a weird noise and it took him a moment to realize where it was coming from. The bag on the table was vibrating. He reached for it and looked inside, it was her phone.

She had an incoming call from an unknown number. He wondered whether he should answer and decided it was the right thing to do.

He accepted the call but didn't talk, he wanted the person on the other line to say something first "Amanda?" he heard.

He recognized the voice right away "it's her partner, detective Amaro" Nick replied "we've met at the precinct the other day"

The man didn't say anything but didn't hang up too "we need to talk" Nick said, he decided to tell him about Amanda so he could hear his reaction "Amanda's at the hospital"

It took a while until the other man replied "is she alright?"

"She's stable" Nick answered, trying to keep his voice calm "we need to talk, where are you?" he got quiet again but Nick wasn't going to let this go "we have to talk, tell me where you are and I'll be there" he still didn't get a reply so he raised his voice a little, he didn't want to wake Amanda but also didn't want to make Tim wait until he could leave the room, he was afraid if he would make him wait Tim would hang up "listen to me" he said "your daughter was stabbed and she is lying in the hospital" now he had to take a breath to calm down a little "you can't tell me this has nothing to do with you, so tell me where you are cause we need to talk"

"Ok" Tim answered, his voice a bit uncertain but he let Nick know where he was.

Nick told him to wait there. He'd be there as soon as he can.

He had to go there even if it might be dangerous, he didn't know if Amanda's father had anything to do with her being stabbed, he did sound concerned over the phone, but it's not hard to fake these sort of feelings.

Nick took Amanda's hand in his and looked at her "I know you don't want me to do this" he said "but I'm not going to listen to you, I am going to make sure that whoever's behind this will pay. But there's something I want to ask of you, get better, ok?" he kissed her palm "I need you to be alright, I love you" he said and got up. But when he turned around he froze when he saw the person standing at the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Olivia was worried about Amanda. Yes, they've had their differences and there were some trust issues, but she still knew Amanda was a good detective.

She was at Amanda's apartment with CSU and spoke to the detective who was assigned with this case. He promised to back off so SVU could look into this.

When Fin said it was about Amanda's father she was surprised, all she knew about him was that he left when she was young and that he was a gambler. Amanda didn't talk about him, not to her at least. But it was a good thing Fin knew about it, it meant she wasn't keeping it a secret.

She talked to him earlier and he told her what Amanda's doctor said, she hoped everything will be fine, Amanda is strong, she will pull through.

But she wanted to visit her, talk to her if she was up for it. She said hello to the officer guarding the door and saw Nick was there. It was wired, he was holding Amanda's hand and talking to her, he said " I need you to be alright, I love you "

Olivia stared at him as he got up, and she saw the shock on his face when he saw her .

"Nick" she said "can we have a word outside" he nodded, as if he had a choice. She looked at Amanda, who was still asleep and left the room with Nick following her.

They walked to the end of the hallway to they could have a little privacy. She looked at him for a moment, not sure what to say yet. She thought there weren't any more secrets.

"What's going on?" she asked raising her hands a bit, he didn't say anything, he had a hard time looking into her eyes "what is it?" she repeated "are you and Rollins…" he nodded and she leaned on the wall "how long?" she asked him but changed her mind when he was about to answer "you know what, it's best if I don't know this. What were you thinking?"

Sure she had her suspicions but she never thought it went that far, he said he loved her.

"Look Liv" he started, but clearly didn't know what else to say.

"Nick this is not ok, you know you can't have a relationship with someone in your squad"

He didn't talk, of course he'd known that, that's why they were keeping it a secret "I know Liv" he finally said "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but it is what it is"

"And what is it exactly? Is it serious?"

"Yes" he said honestly, he hoped it was the same for Amanda, but they didn't talk about it yet.

Olivia shook her hear "what was the plan?" she asked "go to crime scenes, interviewing vics, perps, when you look at her like" she gestured at his face "like this" Nick looked away and she kept talking

"Look" she said, a bit calmer "I want to say that I am happy for you, because I want you two to be happy, and if this makes you happy that's great" she stopped for a moment "but you know I can't let you work together, if IAB finds out" she was getting agitated again "you know I'm gonna have to transfer one of you"

Nick knew she was right, but he didn't really care about IAB right now "you know Liv" he said, looking straight into her eyes "I hope you get the chance to do that"

* * *

Liv said they'd talk about it later. Right now they had to focus on finding the person who hurt Amanda. Nick said he will meet her at the precinct. He didn't want to tell her where he was going, he feared that Amanda's father might run if he saw him with someone else.

He made sure he wasn't being followed and he spotted him sitting on a bench close to a bodega. He walked other there and sat down next to him.

How did he not figure it out when he first saw him? There was no denying he's Amanda's father. She had his eyes.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She's stable, we hope she'll be alright"

"What happened?"

"We shouldn't talk here" Nick said and looked around.

"I don't really have anywhere to go"

"Why did you leave the safe house?"

Tim looked at Nick, he was a bit surprised by the fact he knew about that, but Amanda probably told him, so maybe he can trust him. He had no options left "I did something stupid" he answered "used the credit card, I know I shouldn't have" he said when he saw the look on Nick's face "she told me not to but I…"

"Lets get into the car" Nick said and got up off the bench. But Tim didn't move, he looked down on the ground. It looked like he was thinking about it, weighing the pros and cons of going with him. Suddenly Nick felt both angry and pity towards him.

How could he do something like that? Leave his family, his daughters. Even if it was because of witness protection, he shouldn't have been involved in something like that in the first place. He shouldn't have started gambling, if he wouldn't have done that then everything would have been different. He wouldn't leave Amanda and she wouldn't have to feel so abandoned.

Nick could see it in her eyes sometimes, it was a look he couldn't explain or describe, but he could tell she felt alone, no matter how many people were around her, it was as if she wasn't there with them. But he was going to be there for her, no matter what, until she knows she's not alone, even when there is no one standing next to her.

But even with his anger he felt pity towards Tim Rollins. The man didn't get a chance to know the incredible person his daughter became. Because even though she's been through a lot, she still wanted to help others, she was still strong enough to want to fight her demons.

Now it was his chance to do something right for his daughter, he couldn't change the past, but he could be there for her in the present. Nick looked at Tim, hoping he would make the right decision and stay for her.

Tim's thoughts weren't much different than Nick's. He knew this was his last chance. He didn't feel like he could trust anyone right now but there's nothing for him to do, he could try to run away but for how long?

For a moment he felt like his life flashed before his eyes. He could see his young self, full of hope for the future, still hopeful when he held Amanda for the first time, she was so little and he loved her so much. But then he saw his gambling self, when almost all of his hopes were to win. And now he was someone else, not the hopeful teenager or the gambling man, now he had to be a father.

Tim stood up and they walked to the car slowly.

"Can I see her?" he asked once they were in the car.

"I don't think it's a good idea" Nick replied "I think it's safer if you don't see her right now, when we can figure things out"

They drove in silence for a while, Nick kept his eyes on the road, he wanted to get to the station as soon as possible.

"How is she doing?" he heard Tim ask "I mean not right now, how is she doing?"

Nick wasn't sure what to answer, has Amanda told him anything about herself or her sister, about him? Probably not.

"She's doing alright" he answered and Tim nodded. He didn't say anything else the rest of the way.

* * *

Fin found the Marshal's card in one of Amanda's drawers. Since he wasn't sure if the Marshal had anything to do with the attack on Amanda he didn't mention it when he called. He said that he was her partner and that they had to talk about his investigation. Hawkins agreed to come to the station, Fin couldn't figure out if he had any idea about what happened or not but he'd wait until he shows up to find out the truth.

The truth was unclear and he didn't like it. He didn't like the fact it almost killed his partner, and she wasn't out of the woods yet. But there was something else going on, he wasn't sure what it was though. Liv gave him a weird look when she got back from the hospital but since she didn't say anything he figured it wasn't about Amanda's situation.

He looked up and saw Nick walking towards him, there was someone walking next to him and Fin realized who it was the second he saw him. He got up when they reached his desk.

"Fin" Nick said "this is Amanda's father" he said.

"Detective Tutuola" Fin said and shook Tim's hand. He sat down and Nick brought Tim a chair "I understand you think Carl Jeffries is still alive" he said.

Tim nodded, he took out something out of his pocket, it was the page from the newspaper, he handed it to Fin.

He recognized Jeffries right away and gave Nick a concerned look "can you give as a moment" he said to Tim and got up. Nick followed him, they moved away a bit towards Liv's office, Tim had a worried look on his face but didn't say anything.

They knocked and went into her office, she hung up the phone just as they entered and looked at them. Nick thought she seemed worried but didn't get a chance to ask if she was ok because Fin spoke "we've got a problem serge" he put the page on the table and pointed at a man in the picture "this is Carl Jeffries" he said "the man Amanda's father testified against, the man who's supposed to be dead according to our files"

Olivia looked at the picture and then at Fin and Nick "where did you get this from?" she asked.

"He's here" Fin answered "Tim Rollins"

She nodded, and Nick watched her, he had a bad feeling all of the sudden but again Fin spoke before he got a chance to.

"Hawkins is on his way" he said "that's the Marshal, maybe he can shed some light here cause it ain't clear at all and…"

Fin didn't finish the sentence because Nick couldn't hold the words in any longer "what's going on Liv?" he asked.

She stood up and looked at him "I got a call from the hospital" she said and Nick felt like he couldn't breath again "Amanda is in the ICU, she has sepsis"

* * *

_I Just want to say that I love Olivia, but I think she would be upset to find out two of her detectives are having an affair. Honestly, in the long run, I don't think it will be the best thing for them to work together if they are in a serious relationship. _

_But I'm sure the writers are going to ruin it somehow so it won't matter (I hope they will prove me wrong though, and if not – we will always have )._

_Anyway… hope you like all of the cliffhangers lately._


	14. Chapter 14

_I don't own anything that_ _Dick Wolf owns_

_Hey readers,_

_Hope you're not getting tired of the story yet : ) _

_Even though we are getting closer to the end there are more chapters left and I hope you'd want to read them._

* * *

"What?" Nick asked "I was there earlier, they gave her antibiotics to prevent an infection, what happened?" he felt nauseous, he felt like he couldn't just stand there, all he wanted to do was to run to her.

"I don't know exactly, but they said they caught it fast"

Nick shook his head "I need to go see her" he said quietly.

"Look" Liv said "they told me we can see her only later, I think it's best if right now we focus on finding the person who did this" she glanced at Fin, who also looked worried "that's what she would want" Nick looked down on the floor, he tried to fight the tears that were about to burst out of his eyes, he just couldn't think. He heard Liv ask Fin to step out for a moment.

"Nick" she said after Fin left "I'm sorry" she moved closer to him and touched his arm, he looked at her.

She could see the pain and worry in his eyes, they were moist so she knew he was fighting tears "I understand you want to be there with her right now and you can go to the hospital if you want, but they won't let you see her right now and we need your help here"

Nick nodded, she was right, there was nothing he could do to help her there, but if he stays at the precinct he could help her get the answers she needed. He hoped that when they do find whoever was responsible he could keep his hands off of him, but he wasn't sure he won't lose control.

They heard a commotion and walked out of the office.

"It's your fault" it was Tim, he was shouting at someone and Fin made sure he didn't get too close to him and asked him to calm down. Nick recognized the man, he'd seen him once before, at the entrance to the precinct. It was Hawkins.

* * *

Deputy US Marshal David Hawkins despised social media, any form of it. It made his job so much harder. Some of the witnesses had problems closing their accounts and many times they cried and promised not to post anything. He missed the days when it didn't exist, when you couldn't google someone and find out everything about them. His colleagues teased him about it, saying he was too young to be a grumpy old man, he didn't deny it and told them they should accept him for who he was – a grumpy old man.

But that was the reason he liked working with older witnesses, or those who were in the program for years. People he didn't have to worry that they might write a status or a tweet with their location (something that did happen with someone he worked with). Like Tim Rollins for example. The case was transferred to him after the other Marshal retired and from the file it seemed to Hawkins that there were no problems with the witness. He was even happier to receive the news that Carl Jeffries was dead. Which meant Rollins could actually go back to being Tim Rollins.

But things didn't go smoothly. Before he could give him his old documents Rollins disappeared. It got even more complicated though when he got the news that on the same day another witness was killed.

Since Carl Jeffries was a very big offender the prosecution didn't' want the hole case to lean on Rollins' testimony. They managed to convince another witness to testify and he joined WITSEC as well. Obviously Rollins had no need to know about it. But the fact he disappeared on the same day as the murder was very suspicious.

Hawkins figured that Rollins didn't have too many options. He knew his relationship with his ex wife wasn't good and the only other family he had were his two daughters. The younger one was wanted for murder, but no one knew where she was, and Rollins probably didn't know as well.

But the older daughter was a detective. So Hawkins made his way to New York to meat detective Amanda Rollins. He couldn't tell her the entire truth, not if she was helping her father, so he said that Tim was a person of interest in an investigation. Something told him she was lying when she said she hadn't seen him for years. He decided not to push right away.

Despite what some people thought, Hawkins wasn't lazy or stupid, he just didn't like it when people made it harder for no good reason. He knew she was lying, he told her she could be in danger but she seemed to ignore that. He followed her, thinking she would lead him to her father, but she didn't leave her apartment and the next day went to the precinct. Hawkins had to check other leads as well so he left her alone for the time being. But then he got a call.

It was another detective, he said he was her partner and that he had to talk to him. Hawkins didn't mind going back to the station, he could feel something was up but tried to be vague because he didn't know what it was.

When he walked out of the elevator he was surprised to see Tim Rollins. He walked other towards him but when Tim saw him he looked mad, he got up and looked as if he wanted to hit him. He shouted "it's your fault" at him but someone stopped him from getting to him. From the sound of his voice he figured that the man who asked Rollins to calm down was the detective who called him, Tutuola.

Fin asked Tim to sit back down. He did as he was told but kept his eyes on Hawkins.

"What's going on?" it was Liv, she walked out of the office and Nick was right behind her.

"I'm Deputy Marshal David Hawkins" he introduced himself.

"Sergeant Benson" she said "these are detectives Tutuola and Amaro" she gestured at them "lets talk in my office" she suggested and they all walked after her.

"Stay here" Nick whispered to Tim.

Liv didn't waist anytime once they were all in her office "I understand you've been looking for Tim Rollins" she said "and you approached his daughter about him"

Hawkins nodded "and I guess she lied to me since he is sitting right there" he pointed at the door.

"The thing is deputy" she looked at him "Amanda's been hurt, she's in the hospital right now and we need to know how you're involved in this"

"I'm sorry?" Hawkins looked around at the three of them "I had no idea anything had happened to the detective, but I can assure you I have nothing to with it, I warned her about it"

Nick shook his head with disgust "you warned her about it?" he asked him "did you warn her about this?" he asked and took the page from Liv's desk and handed it to Hawkins "did you warn her that Carl Jeffries is still alive? After you told her father that he was dead"

Hawkins looked at Nick with confusion, what was he talking about? He looked down at the piece of paper he handed him. It was a page from a newspaper. He looked at the photo on it, then back at Nick and again on the photo, checking the date of it and of the newspaper.

It was Carl Jeffries. He was still alive? But how could that be, he was dead, there were evidence.

But it was him in the picture, he had no doubt about it. That means someone faked his death. He sat down without taking his eyes on the pictures.

Nick and Fin exchanged looks. Nick though Hawkins looked genuinely shocked by the revelation Jeffries was still alive. But if he didn't know about it, then who was behind this? There was no way Jeffries could pull something like this alone.

Who was helping him?


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns

* * *

The atmosphere in Olivia's office was more than tense. For a while nobody said anything, as if each one of them was somewhere else. Nick was thinking about Amanda, Hawkins was trying to understand how Jeffries faked his own death and Olivia tried to decide how to handle the situation.

Fin was the first to speak "Listen" he turned to Hawkins "if Jeffries is still alive then someone must've helped him out, you've got the details about his death?"

Hawkins nodded, yes, he knew what happened, except now it looked as if it didn't really happen. But if that was the case it means there is someone in the Marshal Service working for Jeffries.

Before Hawkins had a chance to say anything Olivia turned to Nick "maybe it's best if you go to the hospital" she said. He looked at her a little surprised, she just said he has to stay at the station "we don't know what we've got here" she explained "I think it would be better if we have someone else with her, I know we have one officer there but…"

"I'll go" Nick agreed.

Olivia thought he looked a bit relieved to go, she followed him with her eyes as he walked to the elevator, trying not to look stressed as he walked past Amanda's father.

She sent him to the hospital not only because she was worried about Amanda's safety. She was also worried that Nick might overreact when they find who did this, he was capable of it.

"What happened to her?" Hawkins asked, talking about Amanda.

"She's been stabbed" Olivia answered "she has a bad infection and they moved her to the ICU"

Hawkins nodded, he had no intension for her to get hurt. He realized now why she didn't tell him the truth, she thought she couldn't trust him.

"According to the file Jeffries died in an accident, he was being transferred to a different prison" he looked at Olivia and then at Fin "a motor malfunction caused an explosion, the two Marshals who were escorting him died, and according to the evidence so did he" he took the page with Jeffries' picture "but I can tell it's him, so I guess the evidence are not true" he chuckled "someone must've planted them"

"So you've got a dirty Marshal in your office" Fin said.

"We can't be sure of that"

"Well I can" Fin could hear the doubt in Hawkins' voice "I know you don't want to believe it"

"Lets focus on finding whoever it is" Liv said "how can we do that?" she asked Hawkins, knowing he was the one who had access to the Marshal Service files.

"I have to talk to my boss about it" he answered "if Jeffries has someone inside the service then…"

"So tell him what's going on, but we need to know everything" she said.

* * *

Tim had a bad feeling. Amanda was hurt and he couldn't see her. They didn't tell him anything, he had to sit and wait.

But he didn't want to do that. When he saw detective Amaro leave he had a bad feeling, he couldn't explain it. The other detectives were at the office with Hawkins, no body told him anything. What were they talking about? What did Hawkins say to them?

He didn't know what to think, Hawkins lied to him, he gave the detectives the proof to that. He felt like he couldn't just sit there anymore so he got up and started pacing around. He saw something on one of the desks, it looked like a report about something, he only cared about the person who wrote it, it was Amanda.

He realized this must be her desk and sat down. For a while he just stared at it, and then at the door, it was still closed and no one around seemed to be looking at him. Tim opened one of the drawers, there was nothing interesting there, just some empty files. He moved to the second one, there were many papers in there, he moved them around a little.

Sure, he felt a little guilty about snooping, but something inside him feared he would not know who his daughter was, and maybe this was his only chance.

He opened the next one after making sure the door was still closed. There was a blue page, it was folded in two. Tim opened it, it was a schedule of GA meetings.

Why would she have something like that?

Maybe it was for a case, but then why would she keep it here?

There was another option – what if it was for her? Did she gamble?

Why wouldn't she? That's probably the only thing he'd taught her. He put the schedule back and looked back at the door. There is a way he can keep her safe, to make sure Jeffries won't get to her again. He got up and walked towards the office.

* * *

"The first round of antibiotics didn't work" The doctor explained to Nick "we were monitoring her vitals and her fever was getting higher and her heart rate was very high" he continued "we switched the antibiotics and we are giving her fluids"

"Can I see her?" Nick asked quietly.

"You can" the doctor nodded "but I need to tell you that she might not be very responsive, the treatment is not easy on the body, but the aggressive approach is the only way"

Nick nodded and looked at the doctor as he walked away. The officer was standing next to her room, it was the same guy but Nick couldn't remember his name right now. He greeted him before he entered Amanda's room.

To his surprise she wasn't asleep. It seemed like she was staring at the wall, she looked so weak and she didn't look at him when he got in.

"Hey" he said, walking towards the bed. She turned her head slowly, but didn't look up so he sat down next to her.

"Hey" he tried again and he could hear her mumble something, he couldn't understand it and moved so his face ended up in front of hers.

"It's ok" he said, maybe more to himself than to her "you don't have to say anything" he smiled "but I'm not leaving"

Her hand moved a little "my…" she said, but it seemed hard for her to talk.

"Your dad is fine" he guessed that's what she asked about "he's at the station"

She looked a bit surprised and he thought maybe he shouldn't have said that, maybe he shouldn't worry her.

"Everything's fine" he said and leaned to give her a light kiss on her cheek. He just had to feel her a little bit closer to him "I'm going to stay here with you" he said and smiled at her.

"Tell me" she asked, her voice was weak "everything"

He nodded, that's Amanda, he thought, even when she is lying in a hospital bed, she wanted to know what's been going on "Hawkins didn't know" he said "that Jeffries is alive" she didn't say anything "they are talking about it now, everything will be fine, you will be ok" he whispered the last words, as if he was trying to reassure himself. She said something so quietly he couldn't hear her and then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Amanda" he whispered "please get better".

* * *

Tim walked into Olivia's office. The three of them were surprised by the intrusion and turned to look at him at the same time.

"Tim" Hawkins said but Tim interrupted him.

"Listen to me" his voice was a little loud "if he wants me then lets do it, I'll be the bait, but I'm not going to sit here and wait any longer"

"It's not that easy" Hawkins looked at him.

"It's just getting out of the door" Tim replied "he'll find me"

* * *

_Hey readers, _

_I promise that you'll find out who's behind this in the next chapter. _

_Thank you so much for your reviews and for following the story, it means a lot. _


	16. Chapter 16

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns

* * *

Hawkins wasn't thrilled about Tim's offer. He still had to protect him and he didn't want him to get hurt because he felt guilty. Because that's what it was, he felt guilty about his daughter.

"I don't think it's a good idea" he said.

"Ok" he said "then I'm just going to do it"

"That's enough" Olivia tried to calm them down "Mr. Rollins" she said "you can't risk your life like that, I know you think you're doing what's best for your daughter but if you get hurt it won't help her" she turned to Hawkins "you wanted to talk to your boss, listen to what he has to say, and if we decide this is the best way to get to Jeffries then we will make sure he is safe" she turned to Tim again "but you can't do it alone"

Hawkins walked out of the room. He had to make that call now.

"We're not gonna let anything happen to Amanda" Fin added "she's safe at the hospital" Tim nodded "this is Sergeant Benson" Fin said, he realized Tim didn't meet her yet.

"Nice to meet you" she said and shook his hand.

"Likewise" he answered, feeling a bit awkward, like in a way he was trespassing, stepping into Amanda's territory. He felt like he didn't belong there.

"I should call Amaro" Olivia said, sensing the atmosphere. She took her phone and left the room.

"How is she doing?" Tim asked.

"She has an infection, but she's strong, I'm sure she'll make it"

Tim smiled "she was a strong kid too"

"I'm sure she was" Fin laughed "your daughter is a great person and she really cares about you"

Tim gave him a surprised look.

"She does" Fin assured him "she's been looking into this since you got here, she even went all the way to Vermont to talk to that other Marshal, Diaz"

"What?" his eyes grew wider "she went to talk to him?"

"Yeah" Fin said, a bit worried "he was the first Marshal that worked with you, wasn't he?"

"He was, yeah" Tim answered "he was a good guy, I just didn't think she would do something like that"

"I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, but maybe you can work on it, she still loves you"

"I'm not sure I deserve her love"

"Maybe, but you got a second chance, and Amanda believes in second chances" Fin said.

Tim wondered if he was talking about something to do with gambling. He didn't want to ask because then he'd have to tell him about going through Amanda's things. But if she could give him another chance…

His thoughts were interrupted when Olivia got back in to the room.

"What did he say?" Fin asked.

"She's asleep, he talked to her for a bit" she turned to Tim "I'm sure she will be fine" she told him.

Tim nodded and was about to say something when Hawkins entered the office. They all looked at him.

"I need you to wait outside Tim" he said looking at him.

Even though he wasn't happy about it he walked out without arguing, he just wanted it all to be over.

"Well" he said once the door was shut "it would be an understatement to say my boss was unhappy about this" Fin and Liv both looked at him "there's something you should know"

"What is it?" Liv asked.

Hawkins sat down on one of the chairs "there was another witness in the Jeffries case" he told them "he was killed after Jeffries supposedly died" he saw Liv and Fin exchange a look "that's why I was looking for Tim, he disappeared on the same day"

"So you were thinking that he had something to do with it?" Fin asked.

"We weren't sure, but it didn't look good" Hawkins answered "with him disappearing"

"Where was the witness from?" Olivia asked.

"Originally from Georgia, he wanted to go back there and that's where he died"

"On the same date Tim disappeared?" Fin asked and Hawkins nodded "but Jeffries was probably in New York already, wait a second" he said. He took a pen a blank paper "when was the last time you spoke to Tim before he disappeared?"

"Wednesday" Hawkins answered and Fin wrote it "so the other witness died on the same date but the picture was taken on Tuesday" he wrote it down as well.

"So Jeffries didn't kill him" Olivia said.

"He didn't pull the trigger but…"

"So whoever did was in Georgia that day but is that the same person who stabbed Amanda?"

"That would be my guess" Hawkins said.

"Amanda didn't tell me a lot about the guy, he had a mask but look at Jeffries" Fin pointed at the desk "he looks out of shape, I doubt he was the one who stabbed her"

"Lets say it's the same guy" Liv said "and he works for the Marshal Service, he must be connected to the Georgia office" both men looked at her "that's how he must have known about everything, he was close to Jeffries, he could have helped him fake his death and kill the witness while Jeffries was here"

"And if he's here now…" Fin started but Hawkins didn't let him finish.

"I'll call their office to check if one of their men is here" Hawkins stood up fast and walked out of the office.

He got back a few minutes later, he had a worried expression on his face.

"So?" Fin asked.

"I called" he answered "asked to talk to the Chief Deputy"

"Ok" Liv looked at Fin and back at Hawkins.

"He's in New York"

* * *

Yes, Carl Jeffries was a patient man.

And it was all thanks to one person.

After the trial was over and he was sent to prison it seemed as if he had no one he could count on. It was hard to plan revenge when you were stuck behind bars. But one day he had a visitor. He had no idea who it could be, no one tried to contact him except for his lawyer, but what could he want?

Jeffries was right, it wasn't his lawyer. It was Jesse Bean, or "the kid" as he called him.

He wasn't really a kid anymore, but that's how Jeffries saw him. He was surprised to see him, he knew the kid had joined the army. What was he doing there?

He soon found out that Jesse was released not long ago, he wanted to visit him as soon as he learned Jeffries was in prison. He wasn't going to forget him, he wanted to help him out.

The first time they met Jesse _was_ a kid, he was a little trouble maker, living with his foster parents in Atlanta. Jeffries helped him get away from the cops when they were chasing him. He liked the kid for some reason.

And the kid liked him. He helped Jeffries out, but Jeffries never gave him anything too dangerous. Jesse hated his foster parents and saw Jeffries as a father figure. He would do anything for him.

He wanted to join Jeffries' operation full time, but at the time the cops were looking into it and even though he knew they won't find anything he didn't want Jesse to be involved in it. He told him to stay away for a while.

Back then Jesse didn't understand why he was being pushed away, he was always loyal to Jeffries. He got angry and decided to walk away from him. So he joined the army.

When he got back he heard about what had happened. He realized Jeffries tried to protect him all those years ago and he felt guilty for leaving. So he decided to help him out, no matter what.

Jeffries trusted him, but he also knew he had nothing to lose, so he accepted Jesse's offer. He would find out who was behind this and make sure they disappear.

But Jesse had no connections so he knew he's have to find out everything himself. He knew that with his army background he could join the Marshal Service, get the information about the witness who testified.

When Jeffries heard the plan he smiled. He was right about the kid. But he had a better idea, he wasn't sure it would work, but if Jesse was good enough it could. And Jesse was in, and he was good enough.

Jeffries was patient, and he was right to be, because after a very long time, he was finally out. The plan worked.

* * *

Chief Deputy U.S Marshal Jesse Bean was sitting in his car in front of the precinct. He was in a pretty good mood. Finally he proved himself to the only person in his life that mattered.

Carl Jeffries was the closest thing to a real father he had and now he would be proud of him.

His biological father died when Jesse was eight years old. He shot himself only a few minutes after shooting Jesse's mother in front of him. His last words were "see you in hell bitch".

For some reason Jesse didn't feel sad about it. Everyone tried to be really nice to him. He couldn't remember much of those years, he moved between foster homes until he reached the last one.

Not that he liked his foster parents, but they didn't really care about him too much and let him be. So he did whatever he wanted, no one asked anything. And one day he stole a pair of shoes from a store, they were pretty ugly but he wanted them anyway. Unfortunately, the cops were there and he had to run.

He could still remember it like it was yesterday, he was running down the street with the box in his hands and the cops were behind him. Suddenly a car stopped and a man told him to get in, he was smiling and Jesse didn't think too much about it and got in.

That's how he met Carl Jeffries, and from that day he became the most important person in his life. He would do anything for him. But when he was done with school Jeffries said he needs to stay away for some time. Jesse was mad about it, how could he treat him like that?

He decided to leave. Someone he'd known from school told him he was joining the army so Jesse decided to do the same.

When he was released he found out Jeffries was in prison. He forgave him and promised to do whatever it takes to help him out. And he did.

For almost twenty years he did everything right. He was careful, didn't contact Jeffries again, but he always remembered his goal. And he reached it. A year after he became Chief Deputy for the Atlanta office he knew it was time.

Carl Jeffries was being transported to a different prison. And he had to send two agents to take him. He shared a cup of coffee with them before they left, he put something extra in their cups.

They fell asleep half way to the prison, and Jesse picked Jeffries up. So many years later he finally got the chance to tell him to get into the car.

Before leaving he made sure to play with the motor and a couple of minutes later the car exploded. It was a big one, to leave as little evidence as possible. He did plant some though.

And everyone believed Jeffries was dead.

Jeffries wanted to go to New York, he'd never been there before. Now that he was free he had to go, maybe see a show on Broadway, he told Jesse.

He asked Jesse to find Tim Rollins, he wanted to be the one to kill him, but he asked him to get rid of the other guy who testified against him.

Jesse did kill him, they guy came back to Georgia the second he was aloud to. But he didn't know about Tim. He found out that David Hawkins was in charge on his case and decided to follow him. He thought that maybe it was fate that Hawkins went to New York. That's probably where Rollins was now.

So he made his way there.

That was the problem when you couldn't trust anyone and you had to work alone, he had to do everything.

He had to trust Hawkins to find Tim, Jesse had to stay low, not to raise any suspicions, not to use his position for anything. He followed Hawkins everywhere. This wasn't the first time he was parked here, the first time was a few days ago. Hawkins was talking to a young woman, he knew it was Tim's daughter. He thought about following her, but he wasn't sure that after all of this time she would want to help her father. He decided to keep on following Hawkins. He followed him all the way to her apartment. And again it didn't help, it didn't seem like he was closer to finding him.

He couldn't just wait any longer. If Rollins was hiding, maybe he would come out if something would have happen to her.

He waited for a long time until she got home. But he worked fast. Two stabs and he was out of there. She might get lucky and survive, or she might die. All that mattered to him was that Tim would do something.

He couldn't just sit at the hospital though, he still kept following Hawkins. But he knew it paid off once he went to the police station again, Hawkins was still in there. It's been a long time now.

Something told him this was it.

* * *

"This doesn't have to mean anything" Hawkins said, but even he had some trouble believing his words.

"Even if you don't want to see it you still have to check it out" Fin said.

"He's right" Olivia added.

Hawkins called his boss again, this time he didn't leave the office. He shared the news with him. He told him he doesn't want to believe it either, but it didn't look good.

Just a couple of minutes after he hung up his phone buzzed. He showed Liv and Fin the picture, it was Chief Deputy U.S Marshal Jesse Bean.

"Oh shit" Fin said looking up through the blinds at the man who was now standing not far from the elevator "he's here"

* * *

_Hey everyone,_

_I have to say that I'm having fun writing this story, even I'm not sure what's going to happen sometimes, the plan was to have Hawkins be the bad guy but I started liking him so it changed. But it's not over yet (it will be soon because I don't want to drag it) and there are still things I'm not sure about._

_Thanks for reading._


	17. Chapter 17

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns

* * *

Right now Tim had little trust in Hawkins and the detectives. He was getting restless, he felt like he couldn't wait any longer. If he was going to die so be it, but he wanted to see Amanda one last time.

He knew he was guided by his guilt, but he didn't care.

He overheard two other detectives, he though they were talking about Amanda, they mentioned something about Bellevue so he figured she was there. He looked at the office again and made his way out.

The elevator was on another floor so he decided to take the stairs.

He caught a cab to the hospital but the entire way there he had a bad feeling.

* * *

Jeffries got a call from Jesse when he was parked near the station. He told him he had a feeling that Tim is there. He also asked him to wait, let him get him away from there. Of course Jeffries agreed, and of course it was a lie.

He waited too long for this, he wanted to see him. No one was expecting him there, he was dead. Jeffries could see Jesse's car so he stayed away from it. He saw him getting into the building after a while.

But only a couple minutes later somebody walked out of there, it was Tim Rollins.

Jeffries was surprised by this, Jesse just got into the building to there was no way he saw him. But it didn't really matter. He got his chance.

Of course he wasn't going to kill him in the middle of the street, he liked freedom, and he wanted Tim to suffer. Prison was no fun, and Rollins was the reason he got there, so he had to pay.

He saw Tim get into a cab and followed him in his car. It didn't take him too long to realize where he was going, he wanted to see his daughter.

* * *

As Jesse made his way through the squad room he couldn't see Tim anywhere. He wasn't worried about that though, they could be hiding him. But it didn't matter, he knew how to get to him.

* * *

"He doesn't know we know" Liv said "and we need to keep it like that" she turned to look at Fin "go out and stay with Tim" she told him.

Fin nodded and walked out of the office, he walked past Jesse without even looking at him but then he looked for Tim.

But he wasn't there.

* * *

Jesse knocked on the door and opened it.

"Sergeant Benson?" he asked and she nodded "you must be Deputy Hawkins" he added looking at him

"I'm Chief Deputy U.S Marshal Jesse Bean, from the Atlanta office" he shook Hawkins' and then Liv's hand.

"It's nice to meet you" she said with a smile.

"It is" he smiled back "I guess I'm here for the same reason Deputy Hawkins is here, looking for Mr. Tim Rollins"

"I had no idea I was getting help" Hawkins smiled "and from a Chief Deputy that's a…"

"Well" Jesse didn't let him finish "you know how it is, a witness is missing and everyone is on their toes, it's been a while and we still have no news so I thought I'll check it out, maybe I could help"

Liv's phone buzzed and she looked at it, it was a message from Fin.

"So you know where he is?" Jesse asked.

"We have no idea" Liv said, both Hawkins and Jesse were surprised by her answer, and for the same reason. Since Tim was at the station they couldn't hide him.

Liv placed her phone on the desk close to Hawkins so he could read Fin's text.

It said "Rollins is MIA".

* * *

Fin couldn't find Tim anywhere, he'd searched everywhere and asked around but no one seemed to see him. He texted Liv he was gone and then he called Nick.

* * *

Crap.

That's the only thing Nick could think about after Fin's call. If Tim was really on his way to the hospital and the man who'd set this whole thing up may be following him, then Amanda was still in danger, and there was no way he would let anything else happen to her.

* * *

"So you still don't know where he is?" Jesse asked, they had no reason to lie to him.

"I got some leads" Hawkins said "I should really check it out" he stood up and walked towards the door "I'll keep you posted"

"So he didn't come by here looking for his daughter?" Jesse asked once Hawkins was out of the office.

"Not that I know" Liv answered "but I didn't get a chance to ask her"

"I've heard about what happened" he said, trying to sound concerned.

"We're not sure" she said and he nodded. They both tried to read each other and neither said anything for a while.

Fin opened the door "excuse me sergeant" he said "it's about the Parker case" he said.

"Excuse me" she said "if you could wait out side for a moment" she smiled at him "we have an open case and…"

"Sure" he smiled, he was about to leave when his eyes fell on something lying on her desk.

* * *

"I called Amaro" Fin said after Jesse left "he'll be on the lookout"

"Good" Liv said and stood up, she looked down and saw the page from the newspaper "damn" she said and looked at Fin.

"What?"

"I think he saw it" she showed him the page.

* * *

Liv was right, Jesse did see it.

He tried to call Jeffries but he didn't answer. Panic washed over him. They know everything, what if they already found him?

He had to get out of there. He saw Hawkins looking at him, and the sergeant walked out of the office, they all knew.

He tried to walk calmly out of there. How could it be? He tried so hard to make sure no one would ever found out, but they all know now.

And Jeffries, they found him?

He let him down, he's never going to have the thing he wanted most, his revenge. The only person who ever cared about him – and he let him down.

He was useless, all this years wasted.

He failed.

He was a failure.

Jesse could feel them following him. He walked faster, not trying to be calm anymore. Finally he was out of the building, his car wasn't far.

He just needs to get inside it.

He opened the door, he could hear them calling him but he wasn't going to answer. He got in and tried to call Jeffries again, but he didn't pick up.

This is it, he thought, everything was over.

He took his gun and looked at it, they were getting closer now.

He closed his eyes "see you in hell dad" he whispered before he shot.

* * *

Fin and Hawkins drove to the hospital. Liv stayed at the precinct to handle the scene. They both knew it wasn't over yet, Jeffries was still out there and there was no way Fin would let him hurt Amanda.

But no matter how fast they were going it didn't feel fast enough.

* * *

"Excuse me" Tim walked towards the receptionist, she looked at him "I'm looking for Amanda Rollins" he said.

"And you are?" she asked while typing something.

"Her father" he smiled.

"She's in room 405" she smiled "you can go see her"

"Thank you" he walked to the elevator.

* * *

Jeffries was close enough so he could hear the room number, but he was far enough so Tim wouldn't see him.

He made his way to room 405. This could be a good place to start to make Mr. Rollins feel some pain.

* * *

_So the next chapter is going to be the last one._


	18. Chapter 18

I don't own anything that Dick Wolf owns

* * *

Tim could see the room as he walked towards it. He tried to keep his expectations as low as possible, she's probably asleep. Even if she's awake she might not want to talk, or to see him. It was his fault she got hurt.

He opened the door. This was not what he expected.

She was gone.

* * *

Jeffries saw him enter the room.

He couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Finally.

He walked to the room and opened the door.

This was not what he expected.

"Can I help you?" someone asked him.

* * *

After Fin let him know what's going on Nick knew what he had to do. The doctor found an empty room and they made sure to move Amanda to that room in the hospital's computer system. After that he called Fin and waited.

When Tim walked in Nick wanted to kick him or shout at him or something, what was he thinking when he ran like this?

But there was no time, and the scared look on Tim's face when he saw the empty bed, Nick realized Tim was afraid he lost her.

"Get in there" he told him and gestured towards the bathroom "she's fine" Tim did as he was told without saying a word.

A couple of minutes later the door opened again. It was Jeffries.

"Can I help you?" Nick asked him.

"I don't think so" Jeffries said, where was Rollins?

"Maybe you could help me then" Nick smiled and moved closer to Jeffries.

"Highly doubt it" Jeffries answered, this was not good, not at all "I think I'm in the wrong room" he tried.

"Now I am the one who highly doubts it" Nick smiled "You're Carl Jeffries, no?" he smiled again "I have to say you look good for a dead man"

So they were on to him, but not all was lost, there was probably a way for him to get away.

He turned around, it seemed there was no one else there so he ran.

Nick followed him. He knew he wasn't going to get far.

Jeffries opened the door to the staircase and ran inside.

Nick saw the elevator's doors open and Fin and Hawkins walked out "he's in there" he pointed at the stair case and they ran in there.

"Jeffries" Hawkins called "I know you're here, don't make it harder on yourself"

"I'll go down" Fin said and Jeffries nodded.

* * *

Jeffries wasn't young anymore, he was getting out of breath. He knew he wasn't going to get far, but he wasn't going to make it easier for them either. He took out his gun and waited.

When he saw Hawkins he shot.

* * *

Both Fin and Nick heard the shot and ran upstairs towards it.

They saw Hawkins crouched next to the wall, he was bleeding "I'm fine" he said "he hit my hand, I'm ok"

"Go inside" Fin said.

They carefully made their way up. But Jeffries saw them and shot again. Fin aimed at him but missed.

"Give up Jeffries" Nick said "you're not getting out of here a free man"

Jeffries answer was another bullet.

"Your friend is dead" Fin said. They didn't hear anything for a moment and rushed upstairs.

They had to hide since there was another shot.

Jeffries tried to go higher, he had to try to get away, he wasn't going to surrender.

"He shot himself" he heard someone shout at him.

"Ain't it sad" he shouted back, he wasn't happy about it, but he cared about one thing right now, and it wasn't Jesse.

He felt like he was breathing normally and decided to take a chance and run faster, he shot again just to slow them down and started running upstairs.

But he was wrong, and on the third step he slipped, he caught the rail in time but dropped the gun. He tried to reach it but the next thing he heard stopped him "don't even think about it" he saw the guy who waited for him in the room pointing a gun at him.

Jeffries watched as the other guy took his gun from the floor and took out his handcuffs.

* * *

Hawkins was fine, it was just a scratch and after the doctor told him he could go they let him take Jeffries back to the precinct.

"I have something I need to do" Nick told Fin "can you take Amanda's dad to see her?"

"Sure" Fin said.

"He's in the room" Nick smiled a little when he said the next part "I hope"

"I'll take care of him, don't worry" he said "go do whatever it is you need"

Nick nodded and walked away as Fin made his way to room 405.

Fin was glad to find Tim there "lets go see Amanda" he said.

* * *

Nick was at Amanda's apartment. It felt like it's been years since the last time he was there. Seeing here lying there was painful. He still felt bad now, looking at the floor, at the dry blood.

He won't let her see it though.

He took the bucket and walked to the bathroom to fill it with water.

* * *

A few days later Amanda was released.

She still had to rest and Nick insisted she should to stay with him. They went to her apartment to get some stuff for her. She was quiet before they went inside but he smiled at her and took her hand "don't worry" he said.

She still looked a bit scared when they walked in, but he could see her face relax when she saw it was clean. She looked at him and then smiled "thank you" she whispered and hugged him.

They placed her things in a bag and drove back to his apartment.

Frannie was so excited to see Amanda nick was afraid she would hurt her, she almost jumped at her. But Amanda didn't seem to mind, she just hugged Frannie and told her how much she had missed her.

"I hope you didn't have any trouble" she said.

"No, she was an angel" Nick said.

Amanda grinned at him "I was talking to her" she smiled and he had to kiss her.

* * *

It's been another couple of days and Amanda was doing better, she was still tired and spent a lot of time sleeping, but the doctor said it was alright.

Nick could tell she was feeling better as she was getting a bit irritated when he tried to help her with everything. He still did it though.

"What do you want to have for dinner?" he asked her.

"I don't care" she smiled "whatever you want"

"Gil's coming over tonight" He reminded her, they'd talked about it and she got upset when he offered to reschedule Gil sleeping at his place.

"I know, bring whatever he wants"

"We'll surprise you" he kissed her "I've got to go now, I'll see you later"

* * *

"How's it going Amaro?"

"I'm good Tom" Nick answered "thanks for everything" he said. He told Tom some of what had happened and Tom knew better than to ask about the things Nick didn't say.

"Good" Tom smiled.

"You had something to talk to me about?" Nick asked.

"Yeah" he nodded "I don't think you know but I took the sergeant exam"

"Congratulations" Nick was thrilled to hear that.

"I didn't say I passed" he watched the smile fade from Nick's face "but of course I did" he laughed.

"Of course you did"

"Anyway, I'm moving to major crimes" he said "I'm putting this team together"

"Oh" Nick though he knew where this was going.

"I know it's not special victims but I could really use your help, you'd be like my second in command"

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure" he nodded "it could be good for you, like a fresh start maybe, I know you've been through a lot at SVU and…"

"I really appreciate it" he said.

"You need to talk to the Mrs?" he smiled "how's she doing?"

"She's doing fine" Nick smiled.

* * *

Gil was holding Frannie's leash as they walked back home after buying some take out.

They went to the park earlier and he played with her there, he didn't want to leave but Nick promised he could spend more time with her later. He wanted to go get some food and go home to check on Amanda, she fell asleep before Gil got home.

"So she's ok?" Gil asked, Nick didn't tell him much, just that Amanda was healing after being hurt a little.

"She's ok" he answered "she just needs a lot of rest, that's all" he looked at Gil and saw him smiling.

"I knew she's your girlfriend that day she came over with Frannie" he said shyly.

"Well" Nick looked at him again "you are a smart kid"

Amanda was up when they got home "hey Gil" she smiled when she saw him.

"Hey" he answered letting the leash go "how are you feeling?"

"I'm alright" she smiled "how about you? Did you have fun with Frannie?"

"She's awesome!" he said went on telling Amanda about everything they did at the park.

* * *

Nick woke up few hours later, it was still dark. Amanda wasn't there. He checked on Gil, he was asleep and Fannie was lying next to him on the bed. He smiled and closed the door.

He figured she was outside since she wasn't at the living room or the kitchen.

"Hey" he said when he saw her sitting on the steps, she smiled at him and he joined her "I don't think you're getting Frannie back" he said.

"She likes him" she said.

"He really loves her" he put his arm around her and she leaned into him "you ok?"

She nodded "I'm tired of sleeping" she said "tired of being tired"

"The doctor said it should pass soon" he felt her nod again "did you talk to your dad?"

"Yeah" she said quietly "he's still in Atlanta, the whole thing is a mess"

"It is" he agreed "did he talk to your mom?"

She looked at him "I don't think so, but I don't want to get involved" she shrugged "it was hard enough to tell him the truth about Kim and about me" he knew she told him about her gambling. He was glad she was talking to her dad.

They were both quiet for a moment and then Nick decided to tell her about Tom's offer.

"You want to take it?" she asked him.

"I don't know" he replied "you know Liv's not thrilled about us working together" he had to tell Amanda that Liv knows about them.

"Maybe it's the best thing" he said "I mean, what if we want to take a vacation together, we can't just go together if we're at the same unit, who would solve the crimes?" he grinned at her.

She laughed "are you making plans?" she asked.

"Well right now I can offer you a trip back to the bedroom, to dreamland"

She chuckled at his answer "I guess it's not that bad"

* * *

This time when he woke up there was already light out side. But again Amanda wasn't there. Gil wasn't in his room too.

Nick walked into the kitchen, he wondered where they went but just a second later the front door was opened and they walked in with Frannie.

"Hey dad" Gil smiled at him "we took Frannie for a walk"

"Yeah?" he smiled but was a bit concerned when he looked at Amanda, she looked a bit tired.

"It's fine Nick" she could tell he was worried.

"Why don't I make you breakfast" he said "you need to be at school soon" he looked at Gil.

After breakfast and a heartfelt goodbye from Frannie Nick drove Gil to school. When he was back Amanda was asleep so he decided to take a quick shower before work.

He stepped out of the shower with only a towel and took out a pair of boxers, he took the towel off and stopped for a moment as he felt like someone was watching him.

He looked at Amanda, who was looking back at him with a smile on her face "are you checking me out?" he asked, trying to sound as serious as possible.

She tried to look innocent and he turned again so he could put the boxers on.

"Oh you're mean" she said.

"Yeah?" he smiled and got closer to the bed.

"The meanest" she said, biting on her lip a little.

He lay down next to her and kissed her gently "I'm sorry" he said "I don't mean to be mean"

"A poet too" she said and he smiled.

"I tell you what" he looked into her eyes "what if I promise that when you get better I'm gonna keep you up for a whole night and…"

"Just one?" she asked.

He kissed her again, he missed being intimate with her too, he found her desperation adorable "more than one" he said "if you can keep up"

She chuckled and was about to say something when he kissed her again.

* * *

He told Liv about his decision that day. He was going to take Tom's offer. He loves SVU but he also knew Tom was right, it could be a fresh start, and he could be with Amanda without hiding it.

"Can't say I'm surprised" she said "I'm happy for you Nick, both of you"

"I'm really grateful for everything" he told her "it was an honor working with you"

"I'm still your boss for the next couple of weeks" Olivia smiled "let's wait with the sweet talk"

* * *

"Did we take everything?" Nick asked as he locked the door.

"Yes" she smiled "for the fourth time"

"Did we take everything?" he asked again, just to piss her off.

She didn't say anything and took the suitcase to the car "I don't remember the last time I had a vacation" she told him when he helped her put it in the trunk.

"Neither do I" he said.

It's been almost a year since she was released from the hospital and many things had changed.

While Amanda did stay at SVU, Nick moved to major crimes, he loved working there.

They found out that Hawkins was promoted to the Chief Deputy of the Atlanta office after he had ran a thorough investigation about Jesse Bean and all the events that lead to Carl Jeffries' escape.

Jeffries himself had died in prison from a heart attack eight months after he was caught.

As for Tim, he stayed in New York for a while, but decided to move to Vermont, because Diaz offered him a job not far from where he lived. Amanda and he spoke often and saw each other once in a while.

Two months after Nick left SVU Amanda and he had found a new apartment and moved in together.

He looked at her before going to his seat in the car, he was happy, and from the smile she gave him, followed by a kiss, he knew she was too.

-The end-

* * *

_I want to thank everyone who took the time to review, favorite, follow and read this story._

_I loved writing it and I'm a bit sad it's done, I had to force myself to finish the fluffy part of this chapter._

_Let me know your thoughts about it, I'd love to read them._


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